The M & B Chronicles: Recipe #5: Rice Paper Wraps

Although this isn't really a 'recipe', it is such a fun (and fairly healthy) meal, that I wanted to share it on this blog. Malcolm and I first had these rice paper wraps when we visited our friends in Canmore, Alberta this past summer. Thank you so much Kimber and Steve, for introducing us to them, and for hosting us for a number of sleeps during our trip! We've made these wraps several times since visiting, and have introduced them to a few of our own friends as well, all of whom enjoyed them tremendously! These wraps, if put together wisely, provide one epic taste sensation explosion!

What You Need
- Fairly large plate (which curves up a little)
- Warm water
- A number of desired food ingredients (see below), diced and cut up into small bits; Obviously you can make a number of different combinations, and you could add a number of other ingredients or leave some out, but below is a list of things we almost always include in our rice paper wrap "buffet".

Food Ingredients
- Rice Paper Wraps (found at Superstore, in the international section, I think)

- Red or green bell pepper
- Onion (of your choice)
- Cucumber
- Avocado (ripe)
- Carrots
- Peanuts
- Garlic (pressed)
- Ginger (graded or cut into very small pieces)
- Lettuce
- Tomato
- Extra Firm Tofu (and/or cubed chicken, if desired... we usually alternate or have both); Cut extra-firm tofu into small cubes, pat them dry with a paper towel or other towel; marinate with 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp of garlic powder (but do not let it sit too long, otherwise they will soak up too much sauce, and we like making them crispy); add to frying pan (with a little bit of oil) and fry until crispy.
- Rice Noodles (usually we have both regular and spinach rice noodles)

Sauces
- Hoi Sin Sauce
- Spiracha Hot Chili Sauce (from Superstore)
- Soy Sauce
- Peanut Sauce (we make our own with regular peanut butter and water)
- Tzatziki
- Tahina (sometimes)
- Hummus (sometimes)

Home-made Peanut Sauce (left) and Extra-Firm fried Tofu (right)

Part of one of our rice paper wraps "buffet"

Directions
1. Take 1 rice paper out of package and place it into plate with warm water, so that all of it is covered with water. Let soak for a few seconds, ensuring all of the rice paper is soft. Do not let "soak" for longer than 30-40 seconds.
2. Place softened rice paper onto your own plate, and fill with desired ingredients. One tip is to put peanut sauce, tzatziki, and anything else with a little less viscosity first, then veggies, and then drizzle with Hoi Sin, Soy, and any other desired sauces. Warning: Do not use a lot of the Spiracha Hot Chili Sauce, because it is VERY hot!
3. NOM NOM NOM!