Basically, lumpia is the Filipino equivalent of the Chinese egg roll. I first experienced lumpia in my early 20′s, when our Guamanian next door neighbor made them and presented them to us as a housewarming gift, along with a massive platter of kelaguen. It was a nearly religious experience for me, even at the beginnings of my love affair with food. I’ve been hooked ever since and I have no intention of turning back.

When I mentioned this to my wife, she grinned, went to work, and brought home a huge tray of lumpia few days later. It seems that one of her coworkers’ wives was from Guam also, and once again I was carried away on the wings of culinary angels to a place I’ve never been, but that I dream of going to one day. They say the best way to experience the world is through its food, and I agree.

After that couple moved away, I decided we’d try to make this on our own. Unfortunately I never got the recipe from the lovely lady who made them for us, so we were on our own. Off to Google!

I’m really not sure if any of the recipes I found when I was looking this up are actually authentic, but the one we did find seemed to mirror most closely the ingredients we grow in the region and in the spirit of “cook locally”, I adapted it to fit not only what we had around the area, but also what we had around the house. I saw many that called for cabbage, and then there were many that didn’t. We had it on hand but chose not to include it in this recipe, as it’s slated for another wrapped food recipe we’ve been talking about for a few weeks now. (If nothing else, I’ve been dying to try Colcannon, and it will give me the perfect excuse!)

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Vegetarians and vegans avert your eyes! This dish is a carnivore’s delight, and may cause squeamishness in those with different lifestyles.

Kelaguen (ke-la-gwen, also spelled as kelaquin and keliguen though I believe that the first spelling is correct) is a traditional dish of the Chamorro peoples of the Marianna Islands. Kelaguen is a method of cooking whereby the marinade cooks the meat, much like a Ceviche. (Yup, it’s raw beef!) I highly recommend knowing your butcher if you plan on making this dish, as you’ll want the freshest beef possible.

I was introduced to Kelaguen by my ex wife and our Guamanian next door neighbor in the early nineties, and have made it as often as possible ever since. The combination of beef (kåtne), citrus and peppers is wonderful to say the least. This is an Americanized version that was “toned down” for American palettes when our neighbor made it for us the first time. The more authentic recipes read like a who’s-who of spicy, and are generally made of meat that is nearly minced, but this is the version I was introduced to originally, and I’ve stayed faithful to it.

(Besides, cutting the meat in larger pieces makes it perfect for chopsticks!)

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