It’s lumpia time!
Go to any American Canyon celebration and chances are lumpias will be served.
For longtime American Canyon resident Eva Garcia, the deep-fried, spring-roll-like treats from the Philippines are a must. Over the years, Garcia has distributed batches of lumpias at celebrations, potlucks or simply at lunchtime to make people happy.
Firefighters like them. So do bank clerks and fellow realtors.
They’re “random acts of lumpia,” Garcia said.
This holiday season has been busy. Garcia estimated she made about 700 lumpias in December alone before Christmas. Her husband, former American Canyon Mayor Leon Garcia, helps prepare lumpias by separating the wrappers.
Basic ingredients may include cloves, garlic, chopped onions, chopped watercress, cubed sweet potatoes, cabbage, string beans, garbanzo beans, soybean curd and lettuce.
For Garcia, who started cooking at age 7 in her native Philippines, lumpias are a creative endeavor. Eva Garcia’s lumpias may include pork, beef chicken or shrimp. She also prepares vegetarian lumpias.
This summer, Garcia began adding Mexican chorizo to beef and chicken lumpias for extra zest. Her husband loved it. She has been adding chorizo ever since.
American Canyon resident Sheila Turgo plans to have lumpias for New Year’s. Her children are not fond of Filipino foods, she said, but they do love lumpias, which can be served as appetizers or as a main dish. They’re also convenient to eat.
Her father used to make the best vegetarian lumpias, recalled Turgo, who grew up in the Philippines. These days, however, Turgo buys frozen lumpias at stores like Costco, Seafood City in Vallejo or Filipino stores.
Lumpias feature prominently on Filipino restaurant menus including Carabao Filipino Eatery, Napa’s sole Filipino restaurant, which opened last summer. They are also sold at food trucks.
Karla Ivan, who co-owns Cooked by Gio, a food truck based in American Canyon, said lumpias are among the most popular food items ordered during the holidays.
“It’s not a Filipino party without lumpia,” Ivan said.
Ivan was one of the organizers of American Canyon’s annual Manila Munchies, an event that drew crowds to Shenandoah Park in October to celebrate Filipino culture.
Lumpias have become one of the best-known Filipino dishes to have at parties and for holidays, said Ivan, who was born in the Philippines. “We don’t normally eat lumpia everyday, like how we do with rice, but it’s definitely a staple.”
Lumpias are a perfect snack for kids or simply to have on the go, said Ivan, who is a mom herself.
Cooked by Gio normally just sells chicken lumpias, Ivan said, but they can also prepare preordered pork or veggie lumpias.
Filipino cuisine has been gaining popularity in the United States. Still, Filipino eateries are far less common than Chinese, Japanese or Thai restaurants. Filipino restaurants accounted for 1 percent of all Asian restaurants in the United States as of 2023, according to Pew Research Center.
