Man slams white cousin for calling his Asian wife’s lumpia ‘not authentic’

What happened: Reddit user u/tx2mi, 48, shared his story on the subreddit r/TwoHotTakes on Dec. 10. He recalled how his distant cousin — a man in his 30s — kept eating the lumpia his Filipino wife had cooked while complaining “that an Asian could not make authentic spring rolls.”

“Mind you this guy is from rural Ohio and has never been to Asia himself and the closest he has been to authentic Asian food is a Chinese buffet,” the user added.

About the dish: The Philippines’ take on a spring roll, lumpia, comes in different variants. It can be prepared exclusively with meat, a combination of meat and vegetables, or purely vegetables (known as lumpiang sariwa or fresh lumpia in English).

Enough is enough: Fed up by his cousin’s complaints, the Reddit user said he finally lost it and told him he “should probably apologize to the only actual Asian in the house who knows what authentic Asian food might look like.” He also said he should probably should not have eaten “a dozen or more throughout the day” if he actually found it disappointing.

“I closed and told him I embarrassed for his ignorance and intolerance,” he recalled.

Reactions: Many Reddit users praised the man for standing up for his wife, with one commenting, “Sometimes loud mouths just need to be told to quiet down. Maybe he will do some research into lumpia now.”

Another who grew up from the Philippines called the man’s cousin a “jagoff” and pointed out that springs rolls can have any meat in it.

“The only acceptable comment on ANYONE’S family recipe is, ‘How delicious!’ followed by, ‘May I please have the recipe?’” another user chimed in. “NO ONE at a family event is a food critic for Bon Appetite, for heaven’s sake!”