Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls (featuring leftover beef)

Need inspiration for lunch or an afternoon snack? Yes please!

These Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls are a fun way to eat fresh salad ingredients, and cleverly use up small amounts of leftover meat.

But there’s another reason why we love these rolls. They are sooo versatile.

Don’t wait to make them because you think you need to buy specific salad ingredients. They have got to be one of the most forgiving meals that can have any (or all) of the ingredients swapped. Consider this ‘recipe’ more like a template that you fill in the blanks.

No cucumbers? Sub with snow peas, lettuce or cabbage. Out of carrots? Grate some sweet potato instead. There are no hard and fast rules about the ingredients – just opt for different colours and textures and you can’t go wrong.

But a word of warning: don’t anticipate making these 3 minutes before you have to head out the door … While they’re not at all complicated, rushing the folding process of the relatively fragile rice paper sheets may result in frustration (don’t even ask us how we know this!). Practice really does make perfect in this case.

And to really set you up for success, here are our three golden rules for making amazing rice paper rolls:

1. Cut your fillings (julienne) as finely as possible
2. Don’t ‘over-stuff’ your roll or it may split open (but it will still be very tasty!)
3. Be flexible with your ingredients according to what you have on hand.

And there you have it. Our tips and tricks for making a refreshing snack or light meal. Let us know how your rolls turned out, and if you’ve got any further suggestions for making the process easier!

Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls (featuring leftover beef)

• 1 – 2 leftover cooked steaks, a few slices of leftover roast, or approx 1 cup cooked mince, cooled
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced into thin strips, then ribbons
• 1/2 capsicum, deseeded, sliced into thin strips, then ribbons
• large handful bean sprouts
• fresh herbs, leaves roughly torn (mint, basil and coriander work well)

To serve:

• Approx 10 – 12 rice paper rolls
• Coconut aminos, fresh lime juice or sweet chilli sauce, for dipping

Instructions:

1. Prepare ingredients as directed above. If using leftover steak or roast, slice it very thinly across the grain, and then into strips if necessary.
2. Fill a large frypan with 1 – 2 ” cool water. Carefully slide individual rice paper sheets into the water, and submerge for approx 5 – 15 seconds until it’s still slightly inflexible. (The rice paper will continue to soften as you fill and wrap it).
3. The sheets are very delicate when wet, so take care to pick up the softened rice paper sheet with both hands, allowing excess water to drip off, and place carefully on a clean, damp tea towel. (This helps keep the rice paper moist and less sticky to handle).
4. Working quickly because the paper gets sticky as it sits, place a small amount of each ingredient (a total of approx 3 heaped tablespoons worth) in the centre of the rice paper sheet. If desired, drizzle with lemon or lime juice.
5. To fold, carefully fold down the top edge, followed by the other 2 sides. Then roll it back towards yourself to finish wrapping the roll. (Don’t be concerned if your rolls are a little wonky to start with, you’ll soon get the hang of it).
6. Continue until all rice paper rolls have been filled and wrapped.
7. Serve with dipping sauce of your choice.

Serves: 2 – 4 as a light meal

Recipe Notes: 

New to Rice Paper rolls? It’s much easier to learn how to fold when there are less ingredients on each sheet. So try ‘under-filling’ each roll until you get the knack of the folding/ rolling process. And if necessary, re-wrap any burst rolls with another moistened sheet.

Slow and steady makes your meal ‘pretty’: The most fiddly part is making sure your wet rice paper sheets don’t fold over on themselves before you’ve put the ingredients on! If this does happen, put a smile on your face and gently try to straighten out the sheet as best you can and proceed as though it was all part of the creative process 🙂

Storage: Best served fresh but can be kept in the fridge overnight in an airtight container, taking care they don’t touch each other as they will stick together and likely break when pulled apart.

Low-carb: Replace the rice paper with Nori Seaweed Sheets. Place ingredients on dry Nori sheet, roll and then moisten last 1″ with water to secure the end.

More flavour: De-seed a red chilli and chop very finely, or add a small amount of sauerkraut.

More substantial: Add cooked vermicelli noodles, finely chopped omelette, sliced mushrooms, avocado or cooked and mashed beans.