Thai Vegetable Wraps - the Raw Version of Eggrolls

I love Asian food and I often crave greasy fried eggrolls ... until I eat them and feel sluggish afterwards.  Thanks to my friend Lisa Erwin, I have a new, yummy raw substitute for these cravings ... and a great way to get some seriously bitter greens into my diet without making ugly faces. :)

I like this Thai Veggie Wrap recipe also because you can store it in the fridge and live off of it for a week.  You can change up what's going in the wrap for a different flavor, though I've had the same wrap for lunch twice now and I'm still quite happy with the flavorful mouth sensations.

OK, so here's the recipe ... there's several parts to it, but all easy to make and store in the fridge:

Cabbage Filling
1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
1/2 Cup Lemon Juice
2 Tbsp Ginger chopped
1 Tbsp Dried Red Chili Peppes
1.5 Tbsp Nama shoyu (raw soy sauce)
1 Cup Raw Almond Butter (make your own by blending 1 Cup almonds in your vitamix or food processor until creamy)
1/2 head Savoy or Napa Cabbage (it's got softer, wrinkly leaves)

1. Make the almond butter in  your Vitamix or food processor.  Then add the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth.
2. Shred the cabbage (a shredding disc on the food processor makes this quick work).  You should have about 5 cups or more of cabbage
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix the shredded cabbage with the sauce - works best if you use your hands and put some love into it.  Set this aside (can be stored for about a week in your fridge)

Dipping Sauce
1 Cup Tamarind Pulp soaked and strained (get seedless Tamarind paste at your Asian grocery store)
3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1 Tbsp Nama Shoyu
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Sun Fire Salt to taste

Blend all ingredients in your Vitamix until smooth.  Place in a separate bowl and set aside.  (can be stored in the fridge or freezer)

Nut Topping
1/2 Cup Cashews chopped
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1/2 tsp Sun Fire Salt

Mix chopped cashews with oil and salt.  Set aside. (can be stored in the fridge or freezer)

Wraps
Large Collard Greens or Kale Leaves or Swiss Chard or Large Lettuce Leaves
1 Carrot cut into matchstick size pieces
1 mango cut into strips about 1/4 inch thick
1 Cup bean sprouts
1 handful cilantro leaves
1 handful basil leaves

1. Wash leaves.  For Collard, Kale and Swiss Chard cut out the center rib of the leaf, dividing the leaf in half.  This is your wrapper.

2. Place a spoonful of the Cabbage Filling in the center of your leaf.

3. Top with carrot, mango, cilantro, basil, bean sprouts, Dipping Sauce and Nut Topping.  (Careful not to fill it too full or it won't be easy to wrap.

4. Roll the wrap from one end of the leaf to the other - like a burrito. 

You can also dip your wrap in the dipping sauce, but once I got my wrap together, I preferred to concentrate on eating it before it falls apart.  That's why I suggest you put the sauce on the inside.

Enjoy!

Oh, and Dan liked it too ... he's good at making smaller wraps which are much more manageable, even though he rolled his "vertically" instead of "horizontally". However you get it in your mouth and enjoy it is right for you!