FROM THE MEKONG: IT'S A WRAP
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Kaipen is the newest example of how the Spice Route runs in the age of the Internet. The intriguingly flavored ingredient was discovered on the Mekong River in Laos, made its way into top American chefs’ kitchens and now is in home cooks’ hands.

Kaipen is not a one-note trend like wasabi or coconut milk, though. A peasant food meant to be either a seasoning or a vegetable, it has the rough sophistication of outsider art: Deep green algae is pounded into paper-thin sheets with tomatoes, garlic, scallions and galangal, dusted with sesame seeds and bound with tamarind. The result is like spinach with a passport, nori without the faint fishiness.

Laotians use kaipen to season soup or rice, or they eat it as fried chips. It’s most fascinating, though, as a wrapper for roasted striped bass. The top side gets crisp, the bottom as soft as a puree, while the fish absorbs the truly haunting flavor.

KAIPEN STRIPED BASS

2 full sheets kaipen
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/3 pounds striped bass (or use mahi-mahi or thick flounder), cut into equal fillets
1 to 2 Thai or other very small hot red chiles
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
About 5 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
1 medium, best-you-can-find ripe tomato, cored and diced
1 scallion, green part and a little of the white, finely sliced
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Using scissors, cut 4 pieces of kaipen, each large enough to fully enfold a fish fillet. Rinse one under cold water very quickly, just enough to barely soften it. Lay it out on a work surface, sesame-seed side down. Brush lightly with butter. Arrange 1 fish fillet in center. Brush with a bit more butter, then sprinkle evenly with a few chili slices and season with salt and pepper. Fold over to wrap fillet. Blot top side with a paper towel to dry and brush very lightly with canola oil. Set onto a lightly oiled baking sheet. Repeat with remaining kaipen and fish.
2. Roast 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish and how well done you like it.
3. Meanwhile, heat remaining canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Combine tomatoes, scallion and vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cut remaining kaipen into thin strips and fry quickly (10 to 15 seconds), until crisp but not browned.
4. To serve, place each fish packet on a dinner plate. Carefully lift open crisp side of kaipen to expose fish, then slide soft section of kaipen to the edge of the fillet. Spoon tomato mixture at one end of the fillet. Crumble fried kaipen evenly over the tomatoes and serve.
Serves 4.

(Note: Kaipen is sold at markets like Whole Foods and Dean & Deluca and also by mail from goldminenaturalfood.com. Nori can be substituted, but omit the frying step.)

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