Thai Gold Bags

Wonderful crisp pastry filled with a combination of sweet, tangy and toasted flavours are a wonderful taste explosion on the taste buds. I first tried this recipe a couple of years back for a Thai themed New Year’s Eve party. I changed the filling slightly to what the original recipe had. You can create any type of oriental filling you like. The original recipe had mashed potatoes, grated carrots and toasted peanuts.  I used sweet potato  as to me it is a good vegetarian alternative to salmon (in colour, I would not know about taste being a vegetarian ! ). I would say stick to a mash as it makes it easier to create the bags. The trick is in the folding technique, a few tries and you should have a method that works for you.

Gold Bags

These can be created the night before, covered with a damp cloth and stored in the fridge, ready to be fried the following day. If you have the time and patience you can tie each bag after frying with a thin blade of lemongrass.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 1hr       Cooking time: 30 mins        Makes: 25 to 30 bags

8 sheets of frozen spring roll pastry

1 large sweet potato (approx 225g)

2 tbsp chopped coriander

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 large clove of garlic crushed

50 g desiccated coconut,  dry toasted

Oil for deep frying

* Make a smooth paste of 4 tbsp of plain flour and 1 or 2 tbsp of water *

Method

1) Defrost the pastry sheets and keep covered in a damp cloth so as they do not dry out.

2) Peel and cook the potato in a little water, I normally do this in the microwave, on simmer for 10 / 12 mins. Once cooked, remove any excess water and mash with a fork. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well, cool for 10 mins or until ready to use.

3) Cut the pastry sheets into 4 squares ( 3” square), place a teaspoon of the sweet potato mixture in the centre and about 1 cm away make a circle with the flour paste (you may need to make more of the paste), make sure that you have a thick layer as this is what ensures that the bags do not open when  frying.

4) To make the bags pick 2 opposite corners together and then pinch the rest to the centre to create a small bag. Try not to pull together as this will tear the pastry, just be gentle but firm. Place the finished bags in a tray ready to be fried, if you are not going to fry them straight away then cover them with a damp cloth making sure that the pastry does not dry out.

5) Once all the bags are complete, deep fry on a medium heat, until golden brown, turn once for even cooking. They are ready to be served with a sweet chilli sauce or any other dip of your choice. Best eaten warm.