Bean Sprout Spring Roll ( Lumpiang Togue)

This the first of many recipes dedicated to Ms. Elsie Phillips. She's a vegetarian, so I'm making a series of recipes focusing mainly on vegetables, tofu and other non-meat products. This is actually hard for me because most of you knew that I'm a carnivore by nature. This first recipe is a Filipino favorite specially with lugaw (congee) or in my case, rice. The dip is simple to make, just mix together 1 part soy sauce, 1 part white vinegar, some crushed garlic, some chopped onions and some ground black pepper and it's done. Add some chillies if you like. Try this: if you want your dip to have some nice kick, try using the brine of the Guillano sliced jalapeno instead of vinegar and cut the soy sauce by half. I know, thank me later.

Bean Sprout Spring Roll (Lumpiang Togue)
What you'll need: 

• 1/2 kilo fresh bean sprouts, washed and drained
• 2 cups sweet potatoes, sliced into 1" strips
• 1 cup string beans
• 1 cup tofu, crumbled
• 1/2 cup carrots, sliced into 1" strips
• 1 med onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• spring roll wrappers or rice paper for wrapping
• oil for deep frying
• salt & pepper to taste

How to:

1. First, saute onion and garlic in a small amount of oil until translucent. 
2. Add the sweet potatoes and carrots. Saute for a minute.
3. Add the remaining vegetables and tofu. Pour a little amount of water to help it simmer.
4. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.
5. Simmer for 1-2 minutes or until half-cooked. Remove from heat and drain the liquid in a strainer.
6. Let it stand and cool for an hour before wrapping.
7. Wrap spring rolls by placing 1-2 tbsp of the vegetables in the wrapper and close the sides. Roll to make a small log. Close the edge with egg white or water.
8. Deep fry in oil until golden in color.
9. Serve with dip and enjoy!