Spring Fling | Lumpiang Hubad (No Wrap Spring Rolls)

I feel like having a Spring Fling.

OK, calm down now, I was referring to the weather. Spring has remained elusive... well, especially here in St. Louis and in most parts of the East Coast. But this morning, the gentle warmth of the sun touching my skin made me instantly fall in love with the season.  It's about time to park those winter layers inside the closet... put away those boots... and yes let the song "Here comes the sun..." get stuck in your head.

Along with getting rid of the layers of clothing, maybe it's also a good time to get our bad habits out the window and say... "I'm ready for a fresh start!"

Lately, I've been challenging myself to eat healthy.  And it feels good to be in that zone.  Nope I'm not even saying the dreaded words ("I'm on a diet") but keeping a healthy option is what I go with.

So for today, I share a classic Filipino dish called Lumpiang Hubad (or Spring Roll sans the wrapper). Filipinos have different kinds of lumpia (spring rolls), the most popular one is called Lumpiang Shanghai. It is filled with pork rolled in a thin wrapper and deep fried.  But the healthier version is what we call Lumpiang Sariwa (or Fresh Lumpia). The word "fresh" means it's not fried. It is made mostly of vegetables and rolled in a thin crepe that is soft and refreshing to the palette. But this recipe calls for no wrap or spring rolls.  Sorry I find it hard to directly translate the name of this dish.  Hubad in Filipino means Naked in English... so it doesn't sound right to call it Naked Spring Rolls haha.. But before I confuse you any further with my Spring Fling, here's the recipe.

Lumpiang Hubad (No Wrap Veggies)

1 chicken breast julliened
1/4 lb shrimp, deveined and julliened
1/2 medium sized cabbage, sliced into strips
2 medium carrots, sliced into strips
1 medium singkamas, sliced into strips
1 c green beans, julliened 
4 pcs garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp oyster sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp annatto powder (optional)

In a cooking pan, saute onions and garlic with olive oil. Mix in annatto powder, give it a quick stir. Add chicken slices. Saute for five minutes, stirring frequently. Add shrimp and give it a quick stir.  After about 4 minutes add in all sliced vegetables and season with oyster sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes or until done. 

For the peanut sauce 
1/2 cup of light soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar (you could adjust it accordingly)
2 tbsp peanut butter
1/2 cup water
1/4 c cornstarch dispersed in water (make sure to have no lumps)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c peanut, crushed

Directions: 
Mix all the ingredients together : soy sauce, water peanut butter and sugar into a saucepan. When boiling, add the cornstarch mixture, stirring continuously to avoid lumps. Remove from heat when the sauce begins to thicken.

Garnish with crushed peanuts and minced garlic.