I've been making spring rolls (the deep-fried variety) for some time now, and they are really good, but I've noticed some Asian restaurants use something else for wrapping them than the generic, translucent 'rice paper' I get at the store. Theirs are often smoother, yellowish and opaque, like in this photo from Wikipedia. A new book on Thai cuisine I got just recently also has them looking like that in the pohotos and it mentions some mysterious "spring roll wads" which I've yet to come across in any store in my country. Anyways, what is it exactly, can I make some of my own and if so, how?
EDIT: Also, does the preparation of the rolls differ any when using an alternative wrapper, or can I just deep-fry them just the same?
Best Answer
The non-rice paper rolls are probably made with wheat flour instead of rice flour, so they should be just as sturdy and stand up to deep frying as well or better than rice paper, which has always been fairly delicate and hard to work with in my limited experience.
Here is an image of flour egg roll wrappers in their uncooked state: