HOW TO...MAKE VIETNAMESE RICE PAPER WRAPS, a la 67goingon50, wheat-free,

Who wouldn't want one of these gorgeously healthy-looking, bright vibrant Vietnamese Rice Paper rolls?

Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls: vegetarian, fish and meat
'Incredible' 'Very filling' 'good layers in chicken roll' Tasters

They're like spring rolls, only fresh, not fried.  And, with the right mix of veg, protein and sauce, they can be fantastic.  It's a lovely way to greet what seems to be the start of summer!  

While not exactly a doddle to prepare - there is chopping involved -  once the ingredients are ready, it's a simple matter of filling and rolling. The sauces can be made the night before. The rolls are perfect for a communal food prep session with visiting friends.  

Tofu Rolls

This How to...focuses on Vegetarian Vietnamese Rolls.  Elsewhere in this week's blog are Fish Vietnamese Rolls with a punchy, fiery sauce and Chicken Vietnamese Rolls, each distinctive in their own way. 

The method was adapted from Delicious Magazine and Taste.

Don't make this more than a couple of hours in advance and eat on the day.  

Cost: depends on ingredients; these are a great way to use up leftover protein
Serves: 6

Ingred:

   1 100gm packet glass/beanstarch vermicelli (See How to Use Your Noodle/s), soaked in boiling water 5 mins,  plunged into icy water and sprinkled with toasted sesame oil
   1 recipe Vegan Thai Peanut Dipping Sauce  
   190gm firm organic tofu, sliced in thick fingers, marinaded at least 15 mins in Peanut Sauce (above)


   any or all of:
       1/3 cup grated carrot
       1/4 cup finely sliced radish
       1/4 cup finely sliced bamboo shoots (tinned, at major supermarkets & Chinatowns)  
       soft English lettuce
       finely sliced de-stringed mange tout
       tiny florets raw cauliflower
       
        blanch in boiling water 4 mins & plunge in ice water:
             asparagus spears
             broccoli florets
   
Garnish: coarsely chopped peanuts (with most of the fat & salt rubbed off with a paper serviette) OR
             sesame seeds
         
  

Method:

Keep ingredients to a minimum if preferred - just glass noodles and a few veg - but 67 likes the taste and contrasting textures of many veg.  67 admits that the well-stuffed ones are harder - but not impossible - to roll but some cooks say using 2 slightly overlapping papers makes life easier. 

The rice papers are available in Chinatowns, on the shelf or in the chiller.  The dry papers cost a pound and a bit for 20x22cm papers - 1/3 the price of the chilled. The brand used was Longdan, in a green packet.  A smaller  size is available; they can be easier OR more difficult to work with.  

Fill a flat baking dish with warm water (67 found this easier than a bowl.)  Dip the paper into the water for 5 seconds only (one potato; two potato...).  Don't worry if they still feel like paper; they'll continue to soften.
  

The smooth side of the paper is the outside/bottom.  Place a lettuce leaf in the middle; add some sauce to the hollow, then glass noodles and veg. Roll up the lettuce (not the rice paper) & veg loosely.  Just behind it, place a generous portion of tofu - 4 sticks  -  including marinade if not too liquid.  If you're worried the wrapping won't be strong enough, use 2 slightly overlapping rice papers.

Roll the edge  closest to you first over the protein and then immediately over the veg. Keep firmly tucking the ingredients into the rice paper to keep the roll tight.  Halfway down, fold in the sides and roll to the end.

If making in advance:
Place the finished roll obliquely on a strip of greaseproof paper.  Scatter sesame seeds or peanuts underneath the roll

Roll it, pressing the garnish into the wrap; the bottom of the paper will extend and can be twisted or folded closed. 

To eat, tear a wide strip off the top; take a bite; continue until you reach the bottom of the role



Tip: use leftover bean starch vermicelli in salads

COMMENTS:

Though the rolls were considered very tasty, the rice paper wrappings had a mixed response.  Some - the older more middle-class tasters - were not sure about eating the pastry by hand and preferred to eat the rolls on a plate as a salad.  Others loved the rice paper wrapping.

For an office lunch or grazing exam students, the ingredients could be presented as a do-it-yourself/make-your-own Vietnamese roll platter full of goodies.

Mature Housewife: 'I wouldn't have known this was vegetarian if you hadn't told me; the sesame works beautifully with the tofu, adding a toasty-roasty layer.'
Older Political Volunteer: 'I'd prefer this as a salad.'

More Vegetarian recipes on Nav Bar: Recipes II/Vegetarian 

                             Please leave a Comment in the box below

         .

This recipe has  been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.