Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls, Tempeh-Shiitake Mushroom Stir Fry with Rice Noodles

As I had mentioned in early June, my friend Puja had sent me some Vietnamese rice paper (banh tranh) rolls. That was so kind of her and, using her ideas as a base, I tried working with them for the first time today and served them alongside a simple tempeh - shiitake mushroom stir fry with rice noodles.

These rice paper sheets come in very thin circles. I first had all the fillings ready; I grated carrot, cucumber, and crookneck squash and laid out some mint leaves. I also prepared rice noodles by putting them in boiling water for a few minutes till they were cooked (I reserved some for the stir fry).

Then, I simply took each rice paper disc and put it in a large bowl of hot tap water. I kept it in just till it was soft and pliable, maybe 5-10 seconds (much longer and it seemed like it would disintegrate or at least readily rip). Then I simply added the vegetables, mint leaves, and rice noodles and folded the paper down. I purchased an imported Indonesian peanut satay dip, and served that in a bowl for us to dip the rolls into. We loved them! I can't wait to experiment with more ways of preparing them - perhaps with some avocado?!