Organic rice paper wrappers are for more than just spring rolls. Because they contain rice rather than wheat or other flours, the wrappers are gluten-free and can be used to wrap all sorts of organic foods.
Making Your Own Rice Paper Wrappers
Unfortunately, finding commercially prepared varieties of organic rice paper wrappers is extremely difficult. However, making your own wrappers is a fairly simple process that doesn't require any special equipment. As long as you use organic ingredients, you'll have organic rice paper wrappers.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of organic rice flour
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 3/4 cup of water
- Organic non-stick cooking spray, such as Spectrum spray
Directions
- Sift together the flour and the salt into a medium-sized bowl.
- Very slowly, add the water to the flour and salt mixture, stirring constantly as the water is added. Stir until the batter is extremely smooth.
- Over medium heat, preheat a 5" non-stick sauté pan that has been coated with a thin layer of the cooking spray. Preheat for five minutes.
- Pour one tablespoon of the batter into the middle of the pan and quickly tilt and swirl the pan in order to spread the batter quickly and evenly.
- Cook the batter until it appears dry - about two minutes. There is no need to flip the batter over - the layer will be so thin that it will cook through quickly.
- Gently remove the rice paper from the pan and set aside on paper towels to cool.
- When you are ready to use the wrappers, remoisten them with a few sprinkles of water.
This recipe yields 18 wrappers.
Cooking With the Wrappers
- Lay the wrappers on a flat surface.
- Fill the wrappers with a few tablespoons of your favorite organic ingredients.
- Fold the two ends of the wrapper over the filling and then roll.
- Wet your finger in water and rub the edges of the wrapper to seal.
- Foods rolled in rice paper wrappers can be eaten as is (if the ingredients are already cooked), or deep fried until golden and crispy.
Serving Suggestions
A few ways to use your wrappers include:
- Sweet apple dessert - Fill wrappers with organic apples that have been sautéed in organic butter or coconut oil and a dash of cinnamon. Fry rolls in coconut oil and drizzle with organic honey.
- Asian Vegan Rolls - Sautee diced organic tofu with organic aromatic vegetables such as onion, celery and carrots. Add a dash of soy sauce and some organic cilantro. Fill the wrappers with the tofu and vegetables and roll.
- Pear-ginger rolls - Sautee organic pear slices with organic crystallized ginger in some organic butter or oil. Add grating of fresh organic nutmeg. Roll in rice paper and fry. Sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
- Prawn, pink ginger and avocado rolls - Marinate prawns in a mixture of organic oil, rice vinegar and grated coriander for about 30 minutes. Sautee prawns. Place one prawn on each wrapper, and add slices of avocado, pickled ginger and leaves of cilantro. Roll and serve.
- Grated vegetable and rice noodle rolls - Grate carrots. Slice green onions. Finely chop or grate cabbage. Sliver shiitake mushrooms. Soften rice noodles. Mix vegetables with noodles and add a handful of cilantro. Add a few tablespoons of rice vinegar, two cloves of minced garlic and a pinch of salt. When well mixed, roll in rice paper and serve as is, or deep fry the rolls.
Dipping Sauces
One of the joys of rice paper rolls is dipping them in a tasty organic sauce. Here are some suggestions for delicious organic dipping sauces:
- Peanut sauce - In a blender, combine ¼ cup organic peanut butter, two cloves of garlic, one tablespoon of sugar, three tablespoons of soy sauce, one tablespoon of sesame oil, ¼ cup of water and two tablespoons of lime juice.
- Sweet hot dipping sauce - In a small bowl, combine one clove of garlic, minced; ½ teaspoon of chili oil, three tablespoons of soy sauce, two tablespoons of white vinegar and one tablespoon of sugar.
- Chili oil and soy vinegar sauce - In a small bowl, mix together four tablespoons of white vinegar, two tablespoons of soy sauce and four drops of chili oil.
Use Your Wrappers Creatively
With a little creativity and preparation, the uses for rice paper wrappers are endless. Go ahead - find your favorite organic ingredients and wrap them in organic wrappers. You'll be glad you did.
