Rice Paper Bacon or I'm So Trendy!

Well, I finally got over my fear and made rice paper bacon yesterday, and I am very glad to report that it was not as difficult as I thought it would be.

Fresh out of the oven

I cut two sheets of rice paper at a time while dry. I had imagined that they would shatter, and just be very difficult to cut while dry. But I also feared that trying to cut them after soaking would be a HUGE pain. I feel like I made the right choice. Maybe if I ever want to raise my blood pressure, I'll try to cut them while wet and compare! I think you want to use sharp scissors,  it wold be hard with a knife.
After cutting them in strips, I just dipped the two strips in the marinade, and made sure it got in between to help them stick together. I baked these in a 400 degree oven for about ten minutes, give or take. Sorry, I was playing string and I didn't pay as much attention as I should have.But it was definitely close to ten minutes. To be honest, next time I'll probably do eight minutes or so.

Waiting to be made into an amazing sandwich!

It comes out crispy, but also a little chewy, it's really nice. I think mushrooms are still my fave for some vegan bacon, but I would say rice paper comes in second. I swear not in a million and a half years would I ever have thought of this. Creativity is truly AMAZING!!

The finished product, better than a diner!

I layered some up on toasted wheat bread with all the fixins, and had some super wide crinkle cut fries on the side. This is one of the strongest tasting vegan bacons, the rice paper really absorbs the marinade. I've made tempeh bacon in the past where the flavor kind of gets lost in the sandwich. This was bold, and definitely stood out.
I didn't follow any recipe, I just kind of added what I've seen people use until it tasted good. I did write down how much of everything I used. It was really tasty.

                                                      Bacon-ish Marinade

• 2 T. coconut sugar
• 2T. nutritional yeast
• 2T. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. vegan worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. liquid smoke
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp.black pepper

I was just thinking as I was typing this that I should have melted a teaspoon of coconut oil for the marinade. I feel like coconut oil is what you need when you need a specific kind of fattiness.
Don't leave out the nutritional yeast, because it helps thicken the marinade, and also I think I've mentioned this before, but nutritional yeast and liquid smoke bring out the best in each other. They're the Ross and Rachael of condiments.

Look at that face!!!!

I almost forgot to add that the marinade was enough for eleven strips of "bacon", so I used 22 rice paper wrappers. I did use every last drop, so if you make more bacon, I would double upon the marinade.
Happy Friday!