Wrap

Yuba, also called tofu skin, is sturdy and easy to work with. Its crisp texture when baked makes it an ideal wrapper for spring rolls. Find dried or frozen yuba sheets at Japanese food stores.

In Japan, these crispy pan-fried rolls run a close second to gyoza as a favorite side dish to a steaming bowl of ramen. Harumaki is often prepared with shrimp or pork, but I like using beef, which beautifully complements the layers of flavors in this recipe. Besides, the irresistible combination of beef and peppers reminds me of my adopted hometown of Chicago’s famous Italian beef sandwiches. Harumaki also freezes well. The trick is to assemble the rolls completely before sticking them in the freezer. You can even fry the harumaki while the filling is still frozen. I always keep some frozen rolls on hand for an impromptu midnight snack.

I used to eat these all the time as an after-school snack. Who knew I was actually paying homage to another generation? Make them with or without the pickles; it doesn’t matter.

Although this recipe isn’t hard, it does involve a fair amount of chopping. To me it’s worth it because I love lettuce wraps, but the ones in restaurants are too high in calories. Using vegetables in place of some of the chicken dramatically cuts the calories in this dish, but it doesn’t change the flavor. Fair warning though; if you’ve never used chili paste before, it’s hot. You may want to start with half the amount and taste the sauce before adding more.

If you enjoy rice pudding, you’ll love these Thai packets of soft sticky rice flavored by coconut cream. Steaming in banana leaves lends an alluring fragrance to the rich rice, which encases soft banana and cooked black beans. The beans offer interesting texture and color contrast in these popular street snacks. According to legend, kao tom padt (also called kao tom madt) was all that some religious pilgrims had on their journey to visit the Lord Buddha. They presented their precious food to the Lord Buddha upon arriving, and that gesture continues today as these packets are still an offering at religious ceremonies. Thai cooks typically make these packets in large quantities and thus soak and boil a fair amount of black beans. For small homemade batches, canned black beans, drained and rinsed of their canning liquid, work fine. Omit the beans for nom n’sahm chaek, a Cambodian New Year must-have. You can also grill the steamed packets and serve them with the Coconut Dessert Sauce (page 221).

Full of flavor and textural contrast, Filipino turon embody the Asian knack for taking the commonplace banana and turning it into a spectacular fried treat. A popular street food, these fried rolls benefit from the delicate crispness of Shanghai spring roll skins. The bananas become creamy inside during frying and rather custardlike. You can eat these rolls alone or gild the lily with a scoop of rich vanilla ice cream or drizzle of caramel dulce de leche. Thin strips of jackfruit can be rolled up with the banana, too. The shallow frying can get a little dramatic at the end, but it is well worth the clean-up.

Many Asian cooks have incorporated Chinese spring rolls into their repertoires, but those of Filipino descent have embraced the rolls with the most zeal and flair. Derived from lūnpiá, a term from the Fujian (Hokkien) Chinese dialect, lumpia are one of the quintessential foods of the Philippines. In fact, I’ve seldom been to a Filipino celebration where there isn’t a platter of crisp lumpia, whether it be large ones like these or the diminutive finger-size lumpia Shanghai, which is obviously named after its Chinese parent. Banana-filled lumpia is a deliciously popular sweet snack called turon (page 194). Unfried lumpia sariwa are made by rolling up a lettuce leaf and filling of vegetables and meat in a spring roll skin. Fillings for fried lumpia vary from cook to cook, but they often have trademark Filipino touches, such as lots of fried garlic and onion. Simply seasoned, the meat (pork, chicken, or beef), shrimp, and vegetable mixture is precooked but not bound by cornstarch. Thinly sliced green beans are particularly pretty in the rolls and a touch of patis (fish sauce) adds another Filipino note. Vinegar is a favorite seasoning in the Philippines, so it’s apropos to dip the finished rolls in a tangy soy and garlic sauce. But if you’d like extra tropical flair, dunk the rolls in the Sweet and Sour Sauce on page 217 made with pineapple juice, ginger, and chile.

The Chinese repertoire has many kinds of rolls—savory, sweet, thin, fat, fried, and unfried—and they’re all hard to pass up. The Cantonese fried version is bigger than its Shanghai kin, and it is encased in a large version of a wonton skin. Cantonese spring rolls, also known as egg rolls, have gotten a bad rap in America because they’re often greasy, overly doughy, and bland. However, when made from thin skins and a savory-sweet mixture of fresh vegetables and meat, Cantonese spring rolls reveal their worth as a splendid snack. Resembling gold bars and symbolizing wealth, prosperity, and good fortune, spring rolls are savored during the Lunar New Year, which is called the Spring Festival in Chinese. Cantonese spring rolls often combine pork and shrimp, but I prefer to keep the focus on tasty roast pork, which is best when homemade. Finely chopping and shredding the ingredients is time consuming, but you want the filling to be compact so that it fills out the long shape of the roll. Lighten your workload by making the filling and skins in advance.

One of my favorite ways of getting people to enjoy eating veggies is to wrap them in rice paper rolls. If you’ve ever supped on Vietnamese spring rolls, you’re probably familiar with these delightful translucent silky casings that hug veggies tight as a drum. They can be found in any Asian market or the Asian section of most grocery stores. The trick to working with rice paper is all in the water. In the package they look delicate, like round sheets of frosted glass, but slip them into warm water for about twenty seconds and they become soft and pliable. Put them back on the counter, add the ingredients, and wrap them just as you would a small burrito. It may take two or three tries, but I promise you’ll get the knack (I’ve even taught the technique to kids). The result will be veggie heaven, as the rolls are easy to swallow and digest.

These egg rolls made with filo dough bake in the oven, so there’s no deep-frying. Crisp and delicious, they are a fine supper. They can be assembled a day ahead, wrapped in plastic, and refrigerated until they go into the oven.

These burritos, with their creamy spinach filling, are one of the dishes that always elicit customer requests for the recipe when we serve them in the restaurant.

This pita wrap is bulging with vegetables combined with a lime and sour cream dressing.

This wrap is filled with plenty of fresh ingredients. To make it easier to handle, be sure to finely shred the lettuce and cut the chicken into cubes, as this really is an overstuffed wrap—after all, the drippier the better (and more decadent!), right?

Open-ended wraps are a great way to ensure a balanced meal. A recommended serving of protein is about 4 ounces per adult meal. To fully encase that much protein in a tortilla, you would have to use a tortilla that’s higher in carbs than advised. So I keep many of my wraps partially open. That way I can stuff plenty of ingredients in them while keeping my meals in check. In this case, it’s a balanced meal that happens to be brimming with fillings.

To brie or not to brie . . . that is the quandary for many. Well, now that I’ve found ways to stave off the cravings without overindulging, I’m definitely a happy camper. Though the flavor is subtle here, the brie is great paired with the cranberry sauce and arugula leaves. In minutes, you’ll feel like you’re eating at a gourmet sandwich shop, but without the gourmet sandwich consequences.

Although white rice is always included in the fast-food version of this dish, I left it out here. It would have added about 100 calories per serving, and these burritos are really good without it—even better, I think. If you can’t find corn salsa, buy fresh refrigerated salsa and stir in some low-sodium canned corn.

Better than burritos and tacos, these wraps have crunch and the lettuce lets the flavors of the fillings shine through.

This one reminds me of the California surfer scene. It’s a way-cool mega-rito, dude!

Awesome tasting and so different from the previous recipe, you could eat these two nights in a row and not feel redundant (as long as you go for Mexican food!).

Here’s an enjoyable way to serve a modified version of eggplant Parmigiana that’s lighter than the more customary eggplant hero sandwich.