Friday, June 19, 2009

Shrimp Rice Paper Wraps

I have been wanting to try to make rice paper wraps for a while but thought I'd only find the wrappers at an Asian market and we don't have one on the northside of the lake. I was wrong and found packages of 12 wraps at World Markets. I need to make these often to improve my technique but the flavors were very good together.
I easily made a peanut sauce begining with 1/3 cup Peanut Butter. Add to it 1 tsp Sesame Oil, 4 Tbl Rice Vinegar, 1 Tbl Soy Sauce (use Gluten Free Soy for Gluten Free twist), 1 tsp Freshly Grated Ginger, 4 Tbl Olive Oil, dash of Red Pepper Flakes, S&P to taste. Mix together with a wire whip and set aside. This will taste better if it is room temperature. If you make it the day before, make sure it warms up before serving.
I bought 24 Shrimp anticipating 2 shrimp per wrap. I paid about $12 for the shrimp. Thread them onto a skewer lengthwise so the shrimp is straight. I grilled mine plain but you can brush them with Olive Oil to keep them moist. They cook in a bout 1-2 minutes and can be cooked before the prepping since you want them cooled by the time you make the wrap.
You can find Nishiki rice everywhere. Cook 1 Cup Nishiki in 2 Cups Water over medium heat. Lid needs to stay on the pot. Once it is boiling, give it 1 stir and turn it down to low. Let cook about 10 minutes and turn off heat to allow it to steam. After 10 minutes place in clean wooden bowl and add 2 tsp Rice Vinegar and cover with a damp towel. Let steam for about 15 minutes before using.
Having the tool to prep the vegetables properly is key. You need either a mandoline or a knock off variety, (Bed Bath and Beyond), or to be extremely talented with a chef's knife. I used a V-Slicer which I have owned for about 15-20 years. Peel 1 thick Carrot and 1 Cucumber. Remove the ends from the carrot and run it lengthwise over the blades making long strands. Remove the seeds from the cucumber and run it lengthwise over the blades making long strands. Boil a small amount of water and once boiling, add a handful of Snow Peas. Cut the into thin strips lengthwise. Remove clean Cilantro leaves from stems and set aside in a bowl.
For wrap, boil water in a tea kettle. Add 1/4 cup hot water to a large flat (pasta plate works) and add 1 rice paper. Move it around and turn it over, all in about 15-20 seconds to become soft and pliable. Place on a clean dish towel and quickly assemble your wrap using all of the ingredients including the cilantro leaves, keeping everything more or less in the center of the wrap. Fold in the sides and fold up the bottom. Wrap keeping it as tight as possile. It will stick to itself. Cut on a diagonal and serve with peanut sauce. Experiment and keep your preferences written down in a kitchen journal.

2 comments:

Carole said...

These look really good!

Janice said...

We can make them 1 day when we are visiting.