Yes, you definitely need to soak it first. Only do one sheet at a time, as they will soak quickly. I put mine on a cutting board and spray it with warm water on both sides. Once it is wet, it is very difficult to handle, and so you won't want to be moving it around, and you don't want to get it too wet. Then I put the filling on top of it and pick up one end to start making a roll. You'll have to experiment to see how much you need to spray it. I spray mine on a board so that I won't have to pick them up after they have been soaked. I tried soaking them in a bowl, but that makes really very difficult for me to handle them afterwards.

You don't need to cook the rice paper. I have a lot of rice paper on hand, but I just bought some egg roll wrappers last week-end because I want to deep fry some egg rolls.

Lars

I have been making fresh spring rolls with rice paper since Jessy gave us a class in making them. Love 'em.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rice Paper

Thanks Lars and mustangs! Seems like it's not an easy job handling the rice paper. I may have to save this for another day when I am less stressed! LOL

Mustangs, the link is good and ingredients seemed simple enough... but hubby and little man don't like these. Think I can use rice paper to wrap chili instead? :-)

Al

Hey Cathy I'm glad you remember my tutorial grin

Al, I put warm water in a wide bowl or tupperware, and 'dunk' my rice paper in that, turning it so it gets wet evenly and quickly. It takes a few sheets to find the right softness. If it tears while filling and rolling, I simply put the whole thing in another softened wrapper, effectively 'doubling' the paper.

My filling consists of broccoli slaw, cooked chicken, cooked rice/bean threads and an aromatic like basil or my favorite shiso leaf. I'm sure you can find a mix of items that will make everyone happy!

I use a pie plate..perfect size and shape...

I've filled them with potsticker filling too...and cooked them a bit like potstickers..but they are VERY fragile..Maybe I'll try doubling them up...that might just work..

Thanks Jessy & Terri! I will remember the double wrapping tip. Oooo Terri, my two boys love potstickers! Maybe I should give that a try. The sheets I have are pretty big. Potstickers are much smaller so I will fold then wrap... that's double wrap there! Now I just have to decide if I want to pan fry or steam them.

Al

Al, do what I do -- both!

I just put a little water on a dinner plate and soak the rice paper for a few seconds. It's not THAT hard to work with. I was pleasantly surprised.

By the way, we saw women making rice paper in Vietnam. The crosshatch pattern you see comes from the woven bamboo baskets or racks they dry them on.

I was also there for Jessica's Tutorial, as was Larry Engelhardt. I'll try to find pictures.

Just a word of advice, dunk the papers, don't soak them. They're fragile and if you leave them too long, well, it's not pretty.

Annie

I "fry" with a bit of EVOO, then add a bit of water and the lid to steam..gets the "crunchy" bottom and steamy goodness all in one..

Thank you, gellchom, Annie, and Terri!

So the key is... wet but not soak the papers. I will do just that.

Terri, I am so going to make potstickers for Chinese New Year (this coming Sunday). I usually make my own wheat flour wrappers but I will use the rice papers this time. Gonna be fun! :-)

Al

As Jessica showed us and Annie reaffirmed, wet not soak then they won't be that fragile. I recently found square rice papers, I am eager to try them to see if it's easier to fold over the ingredients.

Here's a suggestion. Use won ton wrappers for making pot stickers. They are made with wheat flour, so they are like real pot stickers. They are about the right size and don't need to be double wrapped. I find them in the produce section of my supermarket.

Or, as I often do, buy frozen, ready to cook pot stickers. Asian markets carry a great many of these and some are exceptionally good.

Jim

Well Jim that's what I normally use..however, I often avoid wheat..and well like Al...we've got a stash of rice wrappers..

We tried learning to make pot sticker wrappers in China, and it is HARD. But I like homemade potstickers better than the frozen ones (although I buy those, too, when I find veggie ones), and anyway I have to make my own meat ones. So I buy stacks of round pot sticker wrappers frozen at the Asian market. They are dirt cheap and easy to use. You can get regular or with egg, which I think they call Hong Kong style? I didn't notice much difference.

Now whenever I have a little leftover meat or something, I can whip up a batch of potstickers or dumplings for the freezer in just a few minutes. I'd never do it if I had to make the dough.

I do up to 200 of these at a time. They are a popular appetiser where I work. I put several into a bowl of warm water then fish them when they soften and lay them out on a tea towel. A quick pat with another towel and they're ready to fill and roll. Three at a time is optimum for me.
Two things I have learned: the cooler the water the longer they take to soften, and Vietnamese rice paper rolls are more robust than Thailand ones.
When they're made up you can keep them for some time in the refrigerator covered with a damp towel- the one you used to drain them on is perfect for this.

"Posted by althetrainer ------
Terri, I am so going to make potstickers for Chinese New Year (this coming Sunday). ----
Al"

Pot sticker are very much required tradition for Chinese new year.

Pot stickers look like old Chinese gold ingots.

http://thumb10.shutterstock.com.edgesuite.net/display_pic_with_logo/62870/62870,1199759734,2/stock-photo-chinese-gold-ingot-isolated-on-white-background-8342812.jpg

dcarch

Gellchom, what a great idea to save leftovers!

Colleen, great tips! I will make them this weekend. Hopefully will be able to take some pictures.

Thanks Dcarch! I have already bought ground pork. I have potstickers on my menu for this Chinese New Year celebration week. Can't wait to try out the rice papers! :-)

Al

As Jessy & Annie had mentioned, just dip the rice paper in warm water, don't soak them. After wetting the rice paper, leave it on a plate for a few seconds to soften. Here's what I normally do if I want to stack them up. Under running warm water, I soak only on 1 side and stack 'em up by facing the dry side over the wet side of the other sheet. They will stick slightly but would be easier to remove without brakage. To store them, store in a tight ziplock bag. Try to get the air out as much as possible. Air will dry them and make them more fragile. After storing them in a ziplock bag, I put them in a tightly covered container. Keep them dry and out of air and you can keep them for months.

You can use them to make spring rolls & egg rolls (fried). Frying egg rolls made with these rice papers, you'd need to know what ingredients not to use. Otherwise, you'd get bubbles while frying, they'd pop and burn the egg rolls.

Thanks ntt_hou. The dry to wet stacking sounds good. But why would you wet more than you need? I probably will just wet enough to make one meal. I will keep the rest in the original package; they probably will last for a very long time that way. Al

"But why would you wet more than you need?"

Could you eat just 1 spring roll or just 1 egg roll?

Another reason... I wet several of them at a time since it takes awhile for the rice papers to soften.

Once you've opened the package, you can keep them in its original package but it won't be tightly closed. The air will get in and dry up the rice paper to a point of being brittle. At that point, it's no longer usable as a wrapping sheet.

Btw Al, in case you didn't detect it, I'm Vietnamese :)

And also, Al, I usually tear at least one. So it's nice to have an "insurance" wrapper or two!

Ah, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks ntt & gellchom!