Fakin Bacon (Rice Paper Method)

Bacon. It’s the unicorn of food.

Here’s the problem: if you are a non-meat eater, how do you get your bacon fix? Well, there are vegetarian and vegan bacon options out there on the market, or you can make your own. Coconut Bacon has been one of my faves up until now. I’ve also seen recipes for a bacon made of beans, Tofu, and eggplant.

But over the last few weeks, a new kind of vegan bacon has emerged on my “Fat Vegans” Facebook group, and it’s a game changer.

It’s a game changer because texturally, it’s so similar to bacon when you fry it up. It’s crispy and thin and tastes amazing in a BLT or a BLAT (I’m eating one right now!). You could sprinkle this on your caesar salad or just enjoy it for breakfast.

Now here’s the weird part: it’s made out of rice paper. Yeah, rice paper. You know that stuff that you make spring rolls out of? That.

It’s really bland stuff, so it basically absorbs whatever flavourings you put on it. And I like lots and lots of hickory in mine.

Here’s the original recipe from a Danish bloggers Kasper and Karina. Every time I make this, which has been often over the last couple of weeks, I tweak it a little. Feel free to add your own tweaks and then let me know what they are. But here is the basic idea.

Fakin Bacon (Rice Paper Method)

Ingredients

• Rice paper/ salad roll wrappers (find these in your Asian supermarket), the biggest size
• 2 tbsp ketchup or BBQ sauce (I had some leftover from making Vegan Pulled Pork, recipe here)
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp neutral vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp soy or gluten free tamari
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp each smoked paprika and garlic powder
• 1-2 tsp liquid hickory (or more if you like)
• 1 tsp salt (I used a smoked salt for even more smokiness)

Method:

1. Using kitchen scissors, take one sheet of rice paper and cut it into strips about 2″ wide. Set aside.
2. Get a large bowl and fill it with warm tap water. You don’t want it to be so hot you can’t put your hands in it.
3. Now make the marinade. Dump all of the ingredients into a large, shallow dish and mix well.
4. Get a cast iron pan and swirl a little oil in it. Heat up to medium heat.
5. Take 2 of the rice paper strips and dunk them in the bowl of warm water. Leave for 20-30 seconds, until softened and pliable. Pull them out, shake off the excess water, and then dunk them into the marinade so they are fully immersed. Allow them to sit for about 20 seconds. Pull them out of the marinade and slide them between your two fingers to get off any excess marinade and also to straighten them out so they are flat and not wrinkled and sticking together (if possible–rice paper is really challenging to work with. And if they stick together, it’s fine–it’s just an esthetic thing).
6. Lay the strips in the hot pan and fry for about 1-2 minutes, then flip with a fork and fry an additional 1-2 minutes. If you like yours more crispy, leave them in a little longer.
7. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Serve!