On passage from Bora Bora to Tonga

It’s a wrap!

We are in the last 5 months of our world cruise, and I am finally realising that my boat pantry is so full, we have enough to feed ourselves all the way to Australia and beyond. This in itself is not so bad, except that our next ports of call in Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu have strict quarantine rules (no doubt, taken out of the Australian book) and will frown upon all fresh and some dried foodstuffs. In over 3 years of cruising, we have never been searched for food and I have accumulated an incredible amount of provisions: many are staples, some are more exotic, and a few may test the goodwill of a quarantine officer…
So from this week on, I have vowed to use up as many of our existing food supplies as possible. It started with a minimal shop in Bora Bora the day before our departure, instead of our usual massive provisioning: a bag of potatoes, 3 baguettes and some pork chops. That took care of day 1.

Next in the locker was a packet of rice flour, bought in Mexico. Back then, I remember wanting to experiment with Agua de Horchata ( Rice water) but today I felt like wraps and decided to try my hands at making rice tortillas. It is so simple : unlike bread making, there is no kneading, rising, or rolling of the dough. Think of it as making crepes, which appeals to my kids. The filling is my take on the exotic “rice paper roll”: a mix of tuna, cabbage, carrot, bean vermicelli, seaweed, in a Vietnamese dressing served with Polynesian sashimi sauce and soy sauce. Add fruit smoothie for dessert (watermelon, papaya, frozen bananas and orange juice, this week’s favourite!) and it is a fresh and healthy way to fill up the crew.

Wraps with tuna, seaweed and sesame seeds

Serves 4 for lunch

Ingredients:

4 rice tortillas (homemade or store-bought)
4 leaves of nori seaweed
1 large carrot, grated
¼ small cabbage, grated
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
12 mint leaves
2 tbsp chopped chives
80g bean thread vermicelli
1 can tuna in water
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp grapeseed oil (or any other flavorless oil)
1 tbsp sesame oil
Sashimi sauce ( egg mayonnaise mixed with soy sauce, mustard, and a little sugar)

1. In a bowl, soak the vermicelli in warm water for 5 minutes. Drain well.
2. In another large bowl, combine the vermicelli, grated carrots and cabbage, drained tuna, chives, parsley. Season with salt and pepper, add sesame seeds, rice vinegar, sesame and grapeseed oil. Mix thoroughly.
3. Lay a tortilla on a plate, put a nori leaf on top, spread 1 or 2 tbsp of sashimi sauce, lay 3 mint leaves, add 2 tbsp of the tuna and vegetables. Roll up, wrap in clingfilm and keep in the fridge for up to 3 hours.
4. Cut in half, serve with extra sashimi sauce and soya sauce for dipping (after unwrapping the clingfilm, unlike the photo shows). Enjoy!