makes
20
prep
20 minutes
cook
10 minutes
difficulty
Easy
makes
20
serves
preparation
20
minutes
cooking
10
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
A word about working with rice paper. If you can get your hands on square rice paper, grab it. It will produce more consistently-shaped bacon. If you have round rice paper and don’t trim the rounded bits off, then you will have curled edges. If that doesn’t bother you, then no worries. Here, Shannon has trimmed her circles into squares. For each rice paper circle, you will get four 5 cm (2 in) pieces of bacon.
The marinade will make up to 20–30 slices of bacon. It will keep in the fridge, so make as much or as little as you want and store the rest for another day.
Ingredients
- 10 rice paper sheets
Bacon marinade
- 3 tbsp Maggi Original seasoning sauce
- ½ tbsp kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ tsp Spanish smoked paprika
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce (see Note)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp tomato paste (concentrated purée)
This recipe makes 20-30 slices.
Instructions
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl or shallow tray, such as a roasting tin. You need something big enough to accommodate your rice paper.
Fill another bowl or roasting tin with cold water.
Take two sheets of rice paper and line them up, then use scissors to cut your bacon into strips. You can use a knife, but you won’t get the same clean lines.
Hold two of the strips back to back and immerse in the cold water for 10 seconds. Rub the sheets between your fingers while submerged to ensure the water gets in between the strips.
Once they become a little soft, take them out of the water. They should stick together. Try to line the strips up as closely as possible. If they’re not exact, don’t stress. If they fall apart, you’ll have to put them back in the water for another couple of minutes to seal. Just don’t over-soak them or they’ll get too soft. Treat it like a pancake: the first one may be a bit crap, but you’ll get it. Line a baking tray with baking paper and preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).
Give your marinade a quick stir, then pass the rice paper strips through it until completely covered. Lift them out and allow any excess to drip off. The goal is for the rice paper to not be too wet; you’re not drying them out, just getting rid of the excess. Lay them out on the baking tray. Repeat with as many strips as will fit on the tray, arranging them as close as possible without touching. Bake for 5–10 minutes, depending on your oven.
Check the strips after 3–4 minutes. Once they crisp up, flip them over to crisp the other side. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.
Store the strips in an airtight container. Make a batch for the week and crumble them over salads or chuck them in your sandwiches.
Note
•“Heads up, this is a VEGAN cookbook. When we use words like milk, butter and meat, we’re referring to substitutes. Not all kinds of milk, butter and meats come from animals, and the ones we use only come from plants.” Use your favourite plant-based options.
• Before baking the strips, keep in mind that people love bacon-wrapped food. And this bacon can be wrapped around things. It will cook faster than the thing you’re ,, so give your chicken fillet – or whatever – a head start, then wrap in bacon right at the end of the cooking time.
• Though traditionally made with anchovies, store-brand Worcestershire sauce is often vegan by accident. A lot of the newer products use tamarind instead of anchovy. Our advice: use the cheaper brands and steer clear of old-school ones.
Recipe and image from ) by Shannon Martinez & Mo Wyse (Hardie Grant Books, hbk, RRP $50), is available in stores nationally.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
A word about working with rice paper. If you can get your hands on square rice paper, grab it. It will produce more consistently-shaped bacon. If you have round rice paper and don’t trim the rounded bits off, then you will have curled edges. If that doesn’t bother you, then no worries. Here, Shannon has trimmed her circles into squares. For each rice paper circle, you will get four 5 cm (2 in) pieces of bacon.
The marinade will make up to 20–30 slices of bacon. It will keep in the fridge, so make as much or as little as you want and store the rest for another day.
