Description

Bacon lovers, you don’t have to miss bacon if you are just eating plant-based foods. It’s amazing how our Gift of Health community members come with different recipe ideas. Joanne Dunne Glassman introduced us to this recipe. Our friend Sylvia Smith made the rice paper bacon at one of our support group meetings and everyone at the support group meeting love it.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Whisk together all ingredients except rice paper (and optional balsamic vinegar) until well combined.
3. Fill a wide bowl partway with water.
4. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. Using clean scissors, take 2 sheets of rice paper (one on top of the other) and cut the rice paper into thick strips.
6. Take two strips of the same size and stack them. Holding them together, dip them very quickly into the water. They should stick together. Gently squeeze excess water from the joined pair of rice paper strips.
7. Dip the strip into the marinade and coat it well; place it onto the baking sheet.
8. Repeat until done. (Note: You may need to stop to whisk the marinade again to re-emulsify it.)
9. Bake for about 7 to 9 minutes, or until crisp. Rotate the tray halfway through. The strips can burn easily, so keep an eye on them and take them out as soon as they’re done. The end result will be mostly crispy with some slightly chewy parts.
10. Once fully cooled, store leftover rice paper bacon in an airtight container at room temperature.

Note:
You can twist some pieces of the rice paper to give them more of an authentic look, but keep in mind that those parts will be less crispy and more soft and chewy, akin to less cooked bacon.
Pour a little balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Use a brush to dab a very light amount of the balsamic vinegar down the strips or just onto random places on the strips.

Tip from Cecil