Recently I ran across an article on Filipino cooking where they talked about lumpia, the egg roll of the Philippines. The article talked about how Filipino cooking is dually inspired by both Spanish and Chinese cuisine, so Lumpia has the Spanish influence of garlic and onions sauteed in olive oil -  but they are packaged in a egg roll wrapper.

Of course the small flaw in the plan of cooking lumpia is the fact that – boy howdy – I'm not a huge garlic fan. But Jedd is.

So, inspired by the massive amount of garlic scapes from our CSA, I decided to put the garlic scapes “on the side,” so Jedd could enjoy them.

Which also makes this a nod to Nora Ephron who recently passed away, but managed to teach an entire generation of people that “on the side” was a viable way to order dinner after they saw When Harry Met Sally. (And probably managed to irritate an entire generation of chefs and line cooks. But because of my garlic aversion, the concept has made my life easier, at any rate.) So, thanks, Nora. This one's for you.

Lumpia with an “On the Side” Garlic Scape Dipping Sauce

Egg roll wrappers

1 large chicken breast

1 tablespoon of Chinese 5-Spice powder (optional, but delicious)

Olive oil

1 small red onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

Salt and pepper

3 scallions, diced

5 bok choy leafs (ours came fresh from the farm in our first CSA box of the year)

1 teaspoon of chili flakes

Vegetable oil or peanut oil

For the sauce:

1 garlic scape, chopped into 1 inch pieces below the “bulb”

Olive oil

3 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 teaspoons of rice wine

1 teaspoon of sesame oil

1 teaspoon of chili sauce

½ teaspoon of chili flakes

In a large frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until it's hot but not smoking. While the oil is heating, coat the chicken breast on both sides with the 5-spice. Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 8 minutes on one side and then flip. Cook until the chicken registers 165-170 with a meat thermometer. Remove the chicken from the pan and let cool.

Add the carrots and onions to the pan along with salt and pepper, and more olive oil as necessary. Saute until the carrots and onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the pan and place into a bowl with the scallions. Strip the bok choy leaves from the stem, roughly chop them, and add to the same frying pan, with salt, pepper, chili flakes and additional olive oil, if necessary. Saute until soft over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Add the bok choy to the bowl with the carrots, onions and scallions and stir well to combine.

Pour 1 inch of the vegetable oil or peanut oil into a new frying pan, and heat until it registers 325 on a candy thermometer. Follow the instructions on the egg roll wrappers for assembly. Then gently put the lumpia, 4 at a time, into the oil and brown on both sides, approximately 2 minutes a side until golden brown. Let drain on paper towels while you assemble the sauce.

Saute the garlic scapes with a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Pour the oil and scapes into a small bowl and let cool for 5 minutes, then add the other sauce ingredients. Serve with the lumpia.

Makes 8.

(Photos by Launie Kettler)