21 Must-Try Rice Paper Recipes (Rolls and More...) (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.

The best tip for successful rice paper rolls is to use cool, room temperature water for dipping. Never warm water! Warm water softens the rice paper too quickly, making them stickier, hard to handle and more prone to breaking.

Storing: The rolls taste best the day they are made, but they can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Wrap each roll individually in plastic wrap (to keep the wrapper soft and to keep them from sticking together) and store in an air-tight container in the fridge.

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.

Substitute for Bread

A serving of one 8 1/2-inch wrapper has 31.3 calories. Compare this to a large pita, which has 165 calories per serving, or a single slice of white bread, with 80 calories per serving, and it's easy to see how using rice paper can help you lose weight.

The smooth side goes down

The rice paper rolls have a smooth side and a rough side. Nguyen places the smooth side down on the workspace, and then lets it sit until it gets tacky and “puckery.”

Don't soak for long: Soaking the wrappers for too long causes them to become oversaturated, so a 2-second dip is all that's needed. The wrapper will continue to soften as you work; once you add the fillings, it will be stretchy enough to roll but not so fragile that it tears.

Make ahead

These rolls can be made ahead of time, refrigerated and served the next day. The refrigerator will dry out the rice paper a bit so just give them a mist with water about 10 minutes before serving.

You maybe rolling them a bit too tightly, putting too much stress on the wrapper, so that the added pressure of the steam causes them to rupture. You can try rolling them looser, or add a bit less filling and roll them to the same size(which is really 2 ways of saying the same thing.)

Freezing Rice Paper Rolls

Spring rolls store great in the freezer but only do so after you've done the first round of frying. If you freeze them raw, they will burst open when you try to fry them again. Also, the wrapper texture is denser.

Can you eat rice paper rolls the next day? ›

If you put them in the fridge they will dry out. And never eat rice paper rolls the day after they've been made. Don't overfill the rice paper roll. You will know you have over-filled it if it starts falling apart as you are rolling it.

Contrary to common belief, spring rolls can be revived the next day! Dip the rolls in filtered water quickly and wipe off excess water. Put the rolls in a microwave safe tray and cover with a wet paper towel. Let sit for a minute before enjoying.

Personally, I seem to get along best with water at room temperature. I've found that if the water is too hot, the rice paper becomes sticky super quickly and softens too fast. If the rice paper is too soft, it's much more likely to tear apart when you roll it.

Rice paper rolls – Rice noodles are lower GI and the amount of carbohydrate is usually a lot lower than sushi rolls. Rice paper rolls are also available in a lower-carb varieties, with more vegetables packed in, increasing the fibre and nutrients and reducing carbohydrate.

It's healthy and suitable to most dietary requirements

Since the only starch is made from rice, the roll is gluten-free, and if you don't put too many rice noodles inside, the calories can be very low. Also if you don't add meat, they are vegan.

Mature tapioca starch is used, giving the rice paper a natural strength and making it easily digestible.

Vietnamese rice paper rolls are healthy, brimming with fresh ingredients and not fried like spring rolls, and you can mix and match ingredients according to dietary needs, occasions and taste buds.