Loempia (Indo-Dutch Spring Rolls)

Walk through any Dutch market and you will, sooner or later, pass a stall frying loempia — big, crisp spring rolls handed over hot in a paper napkin, a squeeze of sweet chilli on the side. They are one of the most visible pieces of the Indo kitchen in Dutch public life, as at home at a market or snackbar as they are on a borrel table with drinks.

A snack of many hands

The honest history of the loempia runs through several kitchens. The spring roll itself is Chinese; in Indonesia it became lumpia, filled with local vegetables and spiced to local taste. In the Netherlands it arrived through the Chinees-Indisch restaurants and the Indo community, especially from the 1960s onward, in the era of new arrivals who reshaped the everyday Dutch menu. The result — often larger and more cabbage-heavy than a delicate Chinese roll — is a genuinely Indo-Dutch thing, shaped by Chinese, Indonesian and Dutch hands alike. It is fair to name all three.

The rules of a good roll

Two things separate a great loempia from a greasy one, and both come before the frying. First, the filling must be dry — cooked until any liquid has evaporated, then cooled completely, so it doesn't steam the wrapper from inside. Second, the roll must be tight, sealed at the seam, with no air pockets to blister in the oil.

A loempia should announce itself with a crack, not a squelch — crisp all the way through to a savoury, still-juicy centre.

Fry at a steady 175°C in small batches so the oil stays hot and the rolls colour evenly without absorbing fat. Drain well, rest a moment so the wrapper firms, and serve hot with sweet chilli or a spoon of peanut sauce. They rarely last long.