Tue, July 15th, 2008

Curried Cabbage Pillows

From Issue 9 of News from the Kitchen

This recipe is also from my Recipe Series Thai-style eBook. It’s proved to be very popular and is great for adapting to contain your favourite filling of any style! Enjoy …

Makes 8 pillows

For the wrappers

Make 2 batches of this wrapper recipe for 8 pillows.

5 cups peeled courgette (zucchini)
3 tabelspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup flax meal*

Blend all ingredients except flax meal in a high-speed blender until smooth.
Add flax meal and blend again until smooth.
Pour mixture onto a nonstick dehydrator sheet and spread evenly into a square. You can choose the size, but for the ones in the photo, the mixture was spread 26 cm x 26 cm square.
Dehydrate for 8 hours at 105 degrees F, or until able to peel off the sheet.
Once the dehydrator sheets are removed, return the wrappers to the dehydrator for 30 minutes, until both sides are dry to the touch but still pliable.

* Flax meal is flax seeds that have been ground in a coffee grinder or similar, to produce a fine flour.

For the filling

5 cups white cabbage, shredded
6 spring onions (scallions)
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/4 cup cold-pressed sesame oil
1 tablepsoon toasted sesame oil (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons tamari or nama shoyu
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed/minced
2 red Thai chilies, deseeded and minced
2 tablespoons agave
3 tablespoons tamarind paste* (optional)
1 cup fresh coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped

* Soak 200 g tamarind in 1 cup water and break up with your hands. Strain the mixture through a sieve, and you’re left with tamarind paste. It should be roughly the consistency of watery yoghurt.

Combine all ingredients thoroughly in a bowl.

Assembly

Cut each dehydrated wrapper, which should still be pliable, into 4 equal squares.
Start with one of those smaller squares in front of you so that one corner is close to you.
Place a good amount of the filling mixture into the centre of the square.
Fold up the corner that is closet to you into the centre, then fold up the left and right corners so that you form an envelope.
You will need to wet the edges as you go along so they stick in place.
Fold down the final corner, as if you were closing an envelope, and use water to stick it down. (You will find that you’ll get better at this the more you do.)
Place on a dehydrator mesh tray.
When all 8 are done, return to the dehydrator for a further 1 to 2 hours at 105 degrees F. Serve with dipping sauce.
Dehydrate any leftover cabbage mix until crispy; it makes a great addition to any salad.