Loaded Rice Paper Crackers

Loaded Rice Paper Crackers

We saw a post on social media which inspired this canapé, and given we had some rice paper in the cupboard from previous recipes, we wanted to give this a go.

A quick, shallow fry morphs the dry sheet into a light rice cracker; think prawn crackers but without the fish taste!  After hitting the hot oil, the rice paper puffs up and becomes the perfect carrier for a tasty snack.  We’ve loaded the crackers with fillings, one cooked filling and one that requires no cooking.  However, they are equally as moreish without a filling and sprinkled with paprika or your favourite spice rub.

Given that these dishes were part of our Christmas Canapés Live Cook, we’ve used turkey mince and added some Thai-inspired ingredients for those fresh, punchy, and aromatic flavours.  However, you could always use whatever mince you have on hand.

We always cold smoke some salmon at Christmas on the Big Green Egg, here’s the recipe which guides you through the process but you could add your own favourite filling, as the taste of the cracker is quite neutral.  It does however give a great base for your filling and adds lot of textrure to this snack.

Method

1. Set up your Big Green Egg for a direct cook at 200°C.
2. Pop in your stainless steel griddle, followed by a cast iron skillet.
3. Add some oil to the skillet, while the oil heats up, you can prepare the rice paper.  Cut each rice paper sheet in half and then cut each half into 3 triangles.
4. Carefully drop each triangle into the oil.  The rice paper literally takes a couple of seconds to puff up so we only did one or two at a time.
5. Once the rice paper has puffed up into a cracker, remove from the oil and place on a plate with some kitchen roll to drain.
6. Repeat the process until you’ve made as many crackers as you want.
7. If you don’t want to load them filling, you could season them with smoked paprika, tajin or your preferred spice mix.

To make the Turkey Loaded Cracker

1. Start by heating up some oil in a skillet.
2. Once the oil is hot add the chilli, garlic and ginger to the pan and fry off gently.
3. Add the turkey mince to the pan and leave to cook until the liquid has evaporated and the mince has started to turn golden brown.
4. Add the lemongrass, half the kaffir lime leaves, sugar, fish sauce  and lime juice to the mince. 
5. Once cooked, give it a taste.  You may need to adjust the flavour profile of sweet, sour.
6. Now to load the rice cracker. Take a gem lettuce leave and lay on top of the cracker.  This stops the cracker from absorbing the moisture from the cooked mince.
7. Spoon on the mince and garnish with  spring onion and lime leaves.
8. To finish, drizzle over some sweet chilli sauce.  You’re good to go!  Eat as quickly as possible before they start to soften.

To make the Smoked Salmon Loaded Cracker

1. To make the dressing, put the mayonnaise, vinegar, dill, lemon juice and horseradish in a small bowl.  give it a good zhuzh!  Taste it, you may need to add some more lemon juice, dill or horseradish to your preferred taste. Set aside until you’re ready to load the rice cracker.
2. Take the rice cracker and lay a gem lettuce leave on top of the cracker.  This stops the cracker from absorbing the moisture from the smoked salmon and dressing.
3. Drape a couple of slices of smoked salmon on to the lettuce.
4. To finish, spoon over some of the horseradish dressing. You’re good to go!  Eat as quickly as possible before they start to soften.

These loaded crackers are best assembled just before you’re ready to eat so they remain crisp, however, they won’t last long before they’re devoured by your family and guests.