15+ Tasty Rice Paper Recipes (Rolls and Beyond!) - The Nessy Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Are rice paper rolls healthy? ›

Rice paper rolls are a delicious and nutritious option to enjoy as a snack or as a meal. The roll is low in carbohydrate and fat and offers a moderate protein content. The vegetables make the roll high in fibre and offer your body lots of good vitamins and minerals.

If this isn't possible, you can make rice paper rolls an hour or two in advance but don't put them in the fridge. They need to be at an ambient temperature. If you put them in the fridge they will dry out. And never eat rice paper rolls the day after they've been made.

This wheat version of spring roll wrappers is often in the refrigerated section of grocery stores and is much thicker and more opaque than rice paper. Common fillings include shredded pork, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, and cabbage.

Refrigeration is notorious for drying out rice paper wrappers and making spring rolls rubbery, so fair warning that these won't be quite as supple as their freshly rolled friends (but still delicious nonetheless). Wrap individual summer rolls tightly in plastic wrap and store the rolls in an airtight container.

Mixed rice paper is not only high in calories, eating a lot causes weight gain, but they also contain a lot of fat and starch, even without fiber. If you eat too much mixed rice paper and forget about other nutrients, your body will have an excess of fat and starch.

Spring rolls taste so much better when they are not deep-fried. They also are so much cheaper when you make them at home. Here, tender rice paper wrappers contain a fresh filling, and the rolls are accented by a sweet-and-spicy dipping sauce.

“Rice paper lasts indefinitely,” says cookbook author Andrea Nguyen, who just won a James Beard Award for “The Pho Cookbook.” “When I'm gone, they'll still be here.” So, yes, stock up on rice paper wrappers, because these rounds, which feel almost like plastic when dry, will survive just fine in your pantry.

The best side dishes to serve with spring rolls are crunchy Asian slaw, steamed rice, stir-fried vegetables, steamed dumplings, shrimp fried rice, egg roll in a bowl, orange chicken, bok choy, cold sesame noodles, peanut dipping sauce, pickled vegetables, sweet chili sauce, and cucumber salad.

In the past, my fried spring rolls made with rice paper don't end up all too great. The outside is perfectly crispy, just like it should. But the inside layers of the rice paper don't fully cook all the way through, despite frying them a little longer.

Dip your rice paper wrapper in the water for 10 seconds at most. The rice paper may still feel a little crisp, place onto a damp tea towel and wait a few seconds and it should soften.

Should you double wrap rice paper rolls? ›

You want the rice paper sheet to cover the filling twice over to make it tight and less prone to tearing so don't overfill the roll. If there is too much filling you will only be able to wrap the roll over once and the rice paper will tear easily when you pick it up.

Both are staples in Asian cooking. Rice paper is just what it sounds like — thin, stiff sheets made primarily from rice, though tapioca starch can be mixed in, too. The most common size is around an 8-inch circle. Wonton wrappers are also very thin, but the primary ingredient in the dough is wheat.

Dip your rice paper wrapper in the water for 10 seconds at most. The rice paper may still feel a little crisp, place onto a damp tea towel and wait a few seconds and it should soften.

Tips for extra crispy rice paper rolls...

Brush generously with olive oil which is a healthier way of "frying" them to be crispy yet still tender inside. Don't allow the rice paper rolls to become too soft when soaking in the water. They should still be slightly firm and hold their shape without breaking.