Sesame Salad Wraps Yields 12 wraps
Toss together this simple sesame and cabbage salad on Sunday night, then dress it up throughout the week with leftovers such as steamed or sautéed vegetables, chicken or tempeh. Find rice papers in the Asian foods section of your natural products store.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
1/4 cup sliced fresh ginger
1/4 cup sliced garlic
Salt and pepper
2 whole chicken breasts with bones and skin or 2 packages tempeh
4 cups shredded napa cabbage
4 cups shredded red cabbage
2/3 cup shredded opal or green basil
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup tamari
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
3 teaspoons Asian chile sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
3 tablespoons black sesame seeds
1 cup shredded carrot, sliced snow peas or other vegetable
1 package rice papers
1. Fill a flat-bottomed sauté pan with about 1 inch of water. Add sliced ginger and garlic. Season chicken breasts or tempeh with salt and pepper. Place in water and simmer over medium heat until done, about 20 minutes. Tempeh needs to simmer only about 5 minutes. Let cool and set aside. Omit this step if planning to add leftovers to the cabbage salad.
2. Meanwhile, combine cabbage and basil in a large bowl. Combine vinegar, tamari, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, chile sauce, minced garlic, minced ginger and sesame seeds. Toss thoroughly. If making salad with chicken or tempeh, shred chicken or crumble tempeh. Add to cabbage with vegetables of choice. Otherwise, cover and refrigerate. Add leftovers as desired.
3. To assemble, fill a large, shallow sheet pan or roasting pan (large enough to accommodate one whole sheet of rice paper) with about 1/2 inch of water. Submerge one sheet of rice paper in water to moisten, turn it over and submerge again. Let soak about 2 minutes, until the paper begins to wrinkle. Remove from water and let some of the moisture drip off. Place on a clean, flat work surface. Place about 1 cup of salad in the center. Fold two opposite sides up over the salad and roll tightly from the other side to encase the filling completely. Let dry 2 or 3 minutes before wrapping tightly. Repeat as many times as desired for lunch and refrigerate remaining salad.