Can You Fry Rice Paper? 

Last updated on October 8th, 2022 at 10:32 pm

Cooking with rice paper is a great way to display the ingredients that are wrapped inside. This can be especially useful when you’re wanting to create unique dishes to serve at your next party. 

Rice paper is typically made from rice or rice starch and you can add other ingredients for a little extra flavor too. The main obstacle you may come across when cooking with rice paper is trying not to tear it. Rice paper is created to be extremely thin and can be difficult to roll if not used properly. 

The best way to use rice paper is by soaking it in water first. You’ll take a bowl and let the rice paper soak for about 15 seconds. This makes them easier to maneuver without breaking. 

However, if you leave the rice paper in too long, it can become too soft. 

Once you’ve wrapped your food inside the rice paper, now what? Do you bake the rolls you’ve made or fry them? Does the rice paper fall apart if you fry it?

You can fry rice paper. More often than not, the rice paper is fried to create that crispy shell outside the ingredients. 

Whether you’ve filled your rice rolls with vegetables, meat, or a mixture of both, you can finish cooking the rolls by deep frying them or cooking them in the air fryer. 

What Is Edible Rice Paper? 

Have you ever searched for rice paper and ended up finding something you weren’t expecting? A search for rice paper will end up showing supplies for crafts, uses for baking, and more. So what exactly makes craft rice paper different from edible rice paper?

Edible rice paper is made from rice starch. You can also add other things to it to add some flavor like bananas, tapioca starch, and milk. 

Edible rice paper is made by soaking rice overnight and then the next day grinding it into a milk-like consistency. After the rice has been turned into a milk-like consistency, the mixture is spread by spoonful onto a hot plate into a round shape. After a few seconds, a rolling pin is used to transfer the very thin rice paper to a wove mat and sits there to dry. 

Most often the rice paper will dry in the sun.

If you would like to make your own edible rice paper, you can make it using rice flour, potato starch, salt, and water. If you’d like a little flavor to it, you can also add bananas as well. 

How Do You Store Rice Paper?

Now that you have created some delicious dishes with rice paper, what do you do with the leftovers? Since the rice paper is thin and edible, it needs to be covered to avoid bacteria and germs. 

Should you put the rice paper in the fridge or in the pantry? What is the best way to store it so it will last a while?

The best way to store rice paper is by placing it in a cool, dry location. You can place the rice wrappers in the fridge to ensure that they will stay dry. Placing the rice paper in the fridge can also extend the shelf life as well. 

If you know that you’ll be using the rice paper shortly after opening, you can place the rice paper back into its original packaging and place it in the pantry as well. 

Can You Put Rice Paper In The Microwave? 

Not all foods or materials belong in the microwave. If you microwave a marshmallow, you might have a large, white puffy mess to clean up. If you decide to microwave a grape, you can end up with a fire in your microwave. The same can be true of paper, while you may be able to microwave a piece of paper flat in the microwave, if it’s balled up, it will most likely catch fire. 

So what about rice paper? We know that rice can go in the microwave with no problem, but what about the “paper” part of rice paper? If yes, is there a certain way that rice paper should be heated in the microwave?

You can heat rice paper in the microwave. If you are warming up rice paper rolls, you will need to dip them in water before warming them up in the microwave. You will need to wipe off any of the excess water from the rolls before placing them in the microwave as well. 

After wiping off the excess water, place a damp paper towel over top before microwaving. Allow them to sit a minute before eating.

What Can You Use Rice Paper For? 

Have you ever found yourself with leftover rice paper?  You used rice paper for a recipe and now still have quite a few sheets left over, but what can you do with them? You don’t want to eat the same dinner every night with the rice paper, so what else is there? 

What recipes are there that call for rice paper? 

There are quite a few different recipes out there that call for rice paper. Here are a few that you can add to your recipe list.

• Crispy Rice Paper Spring Rolls: These spring rolls are filled with cabbage and any other veggies you may want. After you have filled your spring roll, you can pan-fry or deep-fry until the spring rolls are crispy. 

• Winter Rolls: Typically in the summer it’s difficult to find good fresh veggies like you can in the summer. When you go to make winter rolls, you can use shredded sweet potatoes, purple cabbage, squash, and other bright-colored veggies. These winter rolls will bring some brightness to your short winter days. 

• Edible Flower Rolls: You can use your rice paper to create edible flower rolls. These are filled with red and yellow peppers, avocado, cucumbers, radishes, green onions, and any other of your favorite bright-colored veggies. 

• Quinoa Summer Rolls: These rolls make for a sweet, light, and healthy meal. These are filled with raw veggies and cooked with raw quinoa. You can then dip it into a sweet apricot sauce. 

• Sweet Pumpkin Rolls: Traditionally, these are made with phyllo pastry paper or other “sweetbreads.” You can replace the sweet bread with rice paper to make a gluten-free option. Since the paper is thin, it might not look so appetizing, but it is a great alternative to create a healthy option for a dessert.