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Betel Leaf Wraps with Curried Squid and Cucumber Relish

Actually sounds pretty good. Note betel leaves can be substituted with Boston or romaine lettuce. That’s when I figured out Bon Appetit is just showing off. 

Relish:
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup finely diced unpeeled Persian cucumber
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1 red jalapeño chile, seeded, finely diced
1 1-inch piece peeled fresh ginger, cut into matchstick-size strips

Wraps:
10 long fresh cilantro stems, chopped
2 garlic cloves, halved
1 1-inch piece peeled fresh ginger, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon Homemade Curry Powder
8 ounces cleaned squid bodies, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rings
1 red jalapeño chile, seeded, cut into matchstick-size strips
1 tablespoon fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup coconut cream
2 tablespoons low-salt chicken broth
16 betel leaves, small Boston lettuce leaves, or small romaine lettuce leaves

So where the heck are you supposed to get betel* around here? I’ll have to check the 88 Supermarket, serving Chinatown’s weird dried stuff, strange sauce and canned oddity needs on Washington Street, one block over from the Boston Herald. Anyone know what a ”Persian cucumber” is? That’s a new one on me. Apparently somewhat shorter than the standard American cucumber. Unpeeled … that must be a Zoroastrian one.  

Ha ha! OK, enough with the cheap cucumber jokes. That link to the homemade curry powder recipe looks like it could be the start of a beautiful thing.

* Quick betel-related story: When I was a kid in Thailand, a lot of the old women used to have high-top crew cuts, and chewed a lot of betel. I don’t know if they still do either. It was a traditional thing supposedly based on an old legend of women who cropped their hair, disguised themselves as men and faced down an enemy army that showed up while their own men were off making war elsewhere. 

So there were all these wizened old women running around the marketplaces, amid the piles of roasting waterbugs, stacks of rambutan, mangosteen and candied whatever that was, dodging the dried squid vendors, etc., with their own loads balanced on poles, their screwed-up eyes sunk in wrinkly faces dark from the sun, shock white fright hair standing straight up, with lips and gums stained bright red and teeth blackened from chewing betel nut. A fair amount of cackling, guffawing and spitting whenever they got together to squat on the sidewalk for a while. A little scary till you got used to them.

Topics: asia, food

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 8:29 pm on Tuesday, April 1, 2008

2 Responses to “Betel Leaf Wraps with Curried Squid and Cucumber Relish”

1. redc1c4 Says:
   April 2nd, 2008 at 1:43 am

   at last…… a dish that makes MRE’s & mess hall food sound appealing.

   “no thanks, i’ll have the road kill and rice please……”

2. mr_oni Says:
   April 2nd, 2008 at 3:17 pm

   Ha,ha, I bet the Arabs named Persian cucumbers.
   Indian markets would probably be the best bet for betel leaves (but be careful how you ask for them, not safe for work).
   Look for betel’s close Vietnamese cousin ‘la lot’ at Super 88 (I know the Vietnamese sandwich shop around the corner uses them, so they must be available).
   Japanese cucumbers and shiso leaves would be a good substitute. Shiso has a mint-lemon-pepper taste. By itself it’s a bit medicinal because one can’t put a finger on the taste but it would work well with the other ingredients.
   I would use grape leaves before lettuce; lettuce just seems wrong, like using bagels for bacon and egg sandwiches.

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