Singju or Manipuri Cabbage Salad

Recipe by

Asha Loupy

Serves

4 to 6

Difficulty

Beginner

Photo by:

Melati Citrawireja

Excerpted from The Diaspora Spice Co. Cookbook. These are just a few of the deeply personal recipes that tell the story of our farm partners, their kitchens, and the spices they grow. Order your copy here! This recipe is inspired by The Ava Women’s Market .

I really try to avoid the trope where you describe a certain, usually lesser known food by describing its similarities or closeness to a better known food — it’s lazy and does a disservice to the former. Now that I’ve given you that disclaimer, singju really does taste like crunch supreme Manipuri bhel had a delicious love child with a nostalgic Chinese-American cabbage salad. Subbing the puffed rice for roasted and seasoned white beans as the base, three grades of crunch and texture from cabbage, pea shoots and instant noodles, and a zingy, nutty dressing to pull it all together.

We first tried this at the Ukhrul Ava Women’s Market, the largest entirely women-run market in Asia, where the Tangkhul community has worked incredibly hard to create a space where their wild foraged and locally farmed indigenous ingredients are available year round. The back of the market has a few food stalls that get a real lunch rush for heaping plates of this singju, freshly fried chive pakoras dipped in chickpea flour, and extra spicy chow mein.

Ingredients

1 15-ounce (439 grams) can white beans
6 tablespoons (90 milliliters) extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Sirarakhong Hathei Chilli
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
1 3-ounce package ramen, preferably Indomie
1 tablespoon perilla or black sesame seeds
3 cups (165 grams) finely shredded green cabbage, lightly packed
2 cups (50 grams) pea shoots or sprouts, lightly packed
Juice of ½ lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon Wild Heimang Sumac

Methods

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Rinse and drain 1 15-ounce can white beans and dry well with a clean kitchen towel. In a large bowl, toss the white beans with 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon Sirarakhong Hathei chili powder, and ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt. Reserve the bowl the beans were mixed in. Spread the beans on a baking sheet and roast, stirring halfway through, until starting to dry out and turn light golden around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, crush the noodles from the package of ramen into big, bite-sized pieces and add to the reserved bowl along with the seasoning packet and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Discard any other sauce packets that come with the ramen, or save for another use. Add this mixture to the par-roasted beans, stir, and spread into an even layer. Roast, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are golden and crisp, and the beans are crunchy, another 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely.
While the crispy bits are cooling, heat a small skillet or tadka spoon over medium heat. Add the perilla or black sesame seeds and toast, stirring or swirling frequently, until fragrant and starting to pop, 1 to 3 minutes. Grind the toasted seeds into a coarse powder using a mortar and pestle.
Add the ground seeds to a bowl with the green cabbage and the remaining ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt. Massage to soften the cabbage, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the pea sprouts, lemon juice, ½ teaspoon ground sumac, and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and the cooled crispy bits. Gently toss to combine. Taste and season with salt, if necessary.
To serve, transfer the mixture to a shallow serving bowl or platter. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ teaspoon ground sumac and serve immediately.

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