Loempia

(Pronounced LOOM-pee-ah). This is a type of beef crepe.

When my mother immigrated to Canada many years ago,
it was difficult to make the dishes of her native Indonesia.
The ingredients were just not available (at least not out in
suburbia) so she had to improvise. The original version of
the Lumpia (or Spring Roll) is wrapped in an eggroll
wrapper. Since she couldn't find any, she made do with
pancake batter to make a crepe type wrapper. This recipe
has also gone through many changes over the years and
probably bears little relation to the original dish - but it
tastes great and stretches one pound of ground beef a
long way!

500 g lean ground beef
2 celery sticks, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. soy sauce
2 beef bouillon cubes or pkgs.
1/4 cup milk
cornstarch to thicken

PANCAKE:
3 cups flour
4-1/2 cups milk
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
3 eggs

Brown ground beef and drain fat. Saut garlic, celery and onions until limp. Mix beef
mixture with celery mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients and thicken slightly with
cornstarch. Set aside.

Mix pancake ingredients to form a thin batter and make thin pancakes in a 9" frying
pan.

Place 2-3 heaping tablespoons of the meat mixture along one edge of each pancake.
Roll up slightly, fold in side edges, then continue to roll the rest of the way. Lumpia
should be log-shaped but somewhat flat. Fry with a small amount of margarine, turning
occasionally, until golden brown and heated thoroughly.

Makes 12-15.