If you weren’t already aware, the Xenoblade series is one of my favorites, so for this last episode for this month and to celebrate us finishing up the game for The Variety Show, I thought it would be fun to do a recipe from the first game. Though, the problem with that is that there isn’t, as far as I’m aware, a Xenoblade cookbook, official or not.
So, for this recipe, like before, I had to create it from scratch. But like last time, I think it turned out pretty well! This dish in particular comes from a pretty obscure part of the game. Mentioned only during a Max Affinity Heart-to-heart conversation, only if you were to choose the first negative dialogue choice, would you have learned about this Reyn-made dish. In fact, it’s so obscure that you don’t even get to see the dish because Sharla doesn’t like them and so Reyn decides to make something else. So I had basically nothing to base my recipe off of.
But, by using the things mentioned in this conversation, I managed to come up with some ingredient ideas. In this game, you are able to gift items to the various members in the party, and so, based on what Reyn would like and on what Sharla dislikes, I chose certain ingredients that would normally go into a cabbage roll or parcel as they call it, while also reflecting the character’s likes and dislikes.
For example, one of Reyn’s favorite items to receive and also one of Sharla’s disliked items is called the Energy Aubergine. Described as a bitter green aubergine or eggplant, it is very reminiscent of a Thai eggplant in our world, which is also slightly bitter and green. But also like its in-game counterpart, Thai eggplant is pretty difficult to find in stores here in America, which is why I had to substitute with a more common type. Though, I figured that the recipe book that Reyn was looking at probably wouldn’t have specified this particular type of aubergine, so I think it makes sense to use what he’d probably be able to find around the colony.
But regardless of what type of eggplant or aubergine you use (or if you even leave it out), I think that this delicious dish will be a really simple and easy one to make that even Reyn could handle it.
Ingredients:
For the filling:
- 1 lb. or so ground pork (or any other type of ground meat)
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- 1 Thai chili (you can leave this out if you don’t like spice)
- 2-3 carrots
- 1-2 aubergines (or eggplants as we call it in America; I recommend using Thai eggplant, but if you can’t find any you can just use another type)
- A few mushrooms
- Some cilantro
- Some mint leaves
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- Some cabbage leaves (about 12 for this amount of filling)
Then if you wish to make some dipping sauce, you will need:
- 1/4 cup of water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 lime
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1-2 tbsp or so fish sauce
- Some garlic, carrots, and/or Thai chili (for optional garnish)
Step 1: Set Pot to Boil
First, set a pot of water to boil so we can blanch our cabbage leaves. While we wait, we’ll prepare the filling.
Step 2: Prepare Filling Ingredients
Before we mix everything together, we’ll prepare our ingredients for the filling, so for your garlic cloves, mince these up;
for your Thai chilis, slice off the stems and slice it into rings or if you want it a little less spicy, split them in half and then scrape out the seeds and mince up the remaining pepper;
for both your carrots and eggplant, either chop them up into tiny pieces or julienne or grate them into thin strips; for your mushrooms, just dice them up into small pieces,
and then for your herbs, just bundle them up and mince into small pieces as well.
Step 3: Blanch Cabbage Leaves
Once everything is prepped, your water should be boiling by now, so grab your cabbage leaves and add them in the water and blanch them for 30 seconds to a couple of minutes, or until the white part starts to soften.
Then set them aside to cool. While we wait, we’ll mix the filling together.
Step 4: Mix Filling Together
In a large bowl, add in the ground pork, garlic cloves, Thai chili, carrots, eggplant, mushrooms, cilantro, mint leaves, sugar, fish sauce, and rice wine vinegar and give this a mix.
If you wish, you may fry a little piece of your filling to give it a taste and add more seasonings to it if needed.
Step 5: It’s Roll Time
When your filling is to your liking and your cabbage leaves have cooled down, it’s roll time. So, grab a cabbage leaf and add a spoonful of the filling a little bit above the bottom white part of the leaf.
Then, roll up the bottom of the leaf over the filling, and then fold the sides over this and then roll the roll up the rest of the way.
Then, repeat this until you run out of filling or cabbage leaves. Don’t worry if the sides won’t stay folded, once we cook the meat, everything will stay stuck together.
Step 6: Cook Cabbage Rolls
When all of your rolls are rolled, it’s now time to cook them, so grab a large pan and heat it with some oil on medium heat.
Once that’s warmed up, add in your cabbage rolls and fry them for 4 minutes covering them with a lid.
Then, once the bottom has browned, flip the cabbage rolls and add in around a 1/4 cup of water if needed and place the lid back on.
Cook this for another 10 minutes or until the water has evaporated.
Step 7: Mix Together Dipping Sauce
While we wait, we’ll make the dipping sauce, so in a small bowl, combine the lime juice, sugar, and water, and stir this together until the sugar dissolves.
Give this a taste and adjust it if needed. If the flavor is a bit bitter, add in the rice wine vinegar.
Then once the flavor is to your liking, add in the fish sauce and any of the optional ingredients.
Taste it again and adjust the flavors to your liking, balancing out the sour, sweet, salty and spicy, aiming for a strong and bold taste. You can also base this on the color as well: shooting for a light caramel or amber color.
Step 8: Serve Cabbage Rolls w/ Dipping Sauce
When your dipping sauce is ready, your cabbage rolls should be done by now, so remove them from the pan, serve them with your dipping sauce, and your Gourmet Cabbage Rolls are ready to eat.