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Summary: Rice Wrappers 

I received lots of varied tips on how to use and prepare dry rice wrappers (the brand I purchased is Banh Trang, also called Double Parrot). Thanks! to everyone who responded.

It looks like I'll experiment with different water temperatures and techniques until I find the method that works best for me. The best part is that so many people have tried these successfully - now they don't seem so intimidating.

In general:

Put (ice cold) (warm) (boiling) water (on a plate) (in a bowl) and dip individual wrappers for (10 to 30 seconds) (one minute) (two minutes) (4 minutes) (15 minutes) until soft but not too soft. Place on a paper towel and put fillings in and roll up. Or, spray the wrapper with water, let it sit, then use it.

One person suggested adding a little cider vinegar to the water, another suggested milk. Have plenty of towels handy to soak up the water.

"lubricate" the papers before and after filling them (inside and outside) with Pam, oil, melted butter, or melted margarine.


Several people warned me that they can be tricky at first, and to not give up; experience pays off. 

After softening, they can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated to be used later. To freeze: after softening, layer with wax paper and freeze in tupperware container; another recommended to oil them and use plastic wrap individually.



Recommended links:

http://www.foodtv.com - search under rice wrappers

http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=celiac for detailed instructions

http://www.recipesource.com/main-dishes/meat/seafood/bass/asian-rolls1.html

http://www.foodsubs.com/Wrappers.html

http://appetizerrecipe.com/AZ/VitnmsSldRlls.asp 

http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?A2=ind0110B&L=celiac&P=R2306&D=0&H=0&O=T&T=1


http://www.veganmeat.com/recipie.html

Suggested recipes:

filled them w/shredded lettuce, carrots, peppers, rice noodles, and cucumber. 

Place on paper towel. In the center of the wrapper, place a few cooked shrimp sliced long ways, or thinly sliced cooked pork, or fried tofu. Then place a few leaves of red leaf lettuce, 2 Tbsp of bean sprouts, 2 Tbsp of cooked vermicelli rice noodles, a few mint leaves (these really make the rolls taste great), and roll it up like a burrito. Dip them into a Thai chili dipping sauce which you can buy in jars - Thai Kitchen makes a few and they are GF. Or you can make your own sauce. 

I use them to make spring rolls. Place shredded lettuce, mint, carrot matchsticks, tofu, shrimp or whatever tickles your fancy, roll up like a burrito, and voila! Search online for Vietnamese spring roll recipes- you should find a ton.

Put rice wrappers filled with pastrami in my daughter's lunch yesterday. You soak them in warm water about 2 minutes until they are soft. pick one up and shake off the excess water. I lay it on wax paper, place filling and roll up. They will air dry and hold their shape. If you soak them too long they tend to fall apart.

To use for lasagna: do not moisten first. Just lay them into the pan and between layers and the moisture from the other lasagna ingredients will be plenty

You may fill them with cold mixtures (like cream cheese w/ veggies and spices), roll them, and serve them cold (or slice them for roulades). They are great filled with veggies, bundled like "purses" with a twist at the top, then deep fried, just like egg rolls. Or put a filling of veggies and meat, seal them, and boil them, like wontons or dumplings

We made up our own stuffing which was excellent: ground chicken, minced garlic, finely chopped carrot, minced green onion, minced garlic, GF soy sauce, hot mustard, sweet chili sauce

I use a flat dinner plate filled with water. Slip one in, wait about seconds to min. until it is pliable. Remove and do whatever you choose to do. It takes a couple until you get the hang of it because they are messy and slippery. I make Spring rolls - not fried, stuffed with julienne pork, soaked bean threads, a little cilantro, bean sprouts, and shrimp halves sometimes thin julienne carrots sticks sometimes Bok Choy same cut etc. Roll tight and cut into bite size pieces and serve with a peanut sauce

There is a recipe in Special diets for Special kids by lisa lewis. Sounds like it would work as wrappers for egg rolls or steamed rolls.

Recipe says to pour 1/2 c. boiling water into 1 c. oriental white rice flour. Mix well & then knead in 1 Tbs. oil--About 10 minutes. Divide into 12 pieces & roll into 6 inch circle. Heat on griddle until done. (Not very long.)

Fill with Pierogies mixture (Polish)

Just fill a shallow dish with hot water - the hotter the better and lay one sheet of rice paper in the water - submerging the edges with your fingers until the whole sheet is wet - then it takes just a few minutes, depending on how hot your water is, until it softens - you can just tell by moving it around a little with your fingers.
With both hands, carefully lift the edge and pull out of the water and lay out on a plate or other smooth, clean surface to wrap. Once they dry a little (1 min., give or take) they are just tacky enough to handle easily and wrap tightly around the filling - It takes some practice but it's worth it!

Miss Roben's website has a nice springroll recipe using those rice wrappers (soften a few mn in water or, better, between wet paper towels). 



p.s. I've tried the tapioca ones and think they are not nearly as nice as the rice ones as they stay sort of rubbery

I used to make Spring Rolls and if those are rice wrappers, I think I used to cover them with a damp towel and rapidly fill and roll the wrappers. They are very thin, but fry up nicely with a little oil. They are not nearly as thick as won ton or egg roll wrappers. Good luck

* Please remember some posters may be WHEAT-FREE, but not GLUTEN-FREE *