How We Roll - By Staff Member "Silas Merriweather"

Hugh’s vegetarian summer rolls are a favorite amongst our clients; so much so that some days we’ve been known to roll upwards of 400 of them. Scaling to such numbers is not a big deal in our kitchen. Working with Vietnamese rice papers – that comes with difficulties.

Galettes De Riz as it says on the package, made in an industrial park in Vietnam (who knew?), are thin, round, stiff and brittle. In order to work with them you have to place them in hot water. That’s one thing we can all agree on around here.

How long should the papers sit in the water? Well, for that we all have our different strategies. The trick is to rehydrate the rice paper enough to be flexible but not so much that it tears when you’re rolling.

Some believe a good long soak is the key. Others say drop it in and pull it right out. And still others find a short soak, say about 5 seconds, is the magic point. I am a believer in this third way, the Goldilocks solution as the astrophysicists might say.

The following are directions for how to conquer the elusive rice paper.

First, fill a bowl or hotel pan with your hottest tap water. Next, cover a table with plastic wrap. This is key; not only will it keep the papers from sticking to the table, but the plastic does not absorb the water leaving it for the papers to continue softening.

Then, and this is very important, put on the song “Rawhide” by Frankie Lane which begins, “Rolling, rolling, rolling. Keep them doggies rolling. Rolling, rolling, rolling, Rawhide.” This will help you find your rhythm.

Drop a rice paper into the water. Let it sit for 3 to 5 seconds. Give it a tap with your hand so you feel like you’re doing something. Pull it out. It should still be rather stiff. You might think it’s too soon. But lay the wet paper down on the plastic wrap and it will keep absorbing water.

After you’ve repeated this process 10 or 15 times your papers should be reaching a perfect consistency.

And that’s how we role here at Hugh Groman Catering. All 400 rolls sometimes.