Making rice paper seems like an easy task as just a few simple ingredients are involved – rice, water and salt. But, the level of culinary craftsmanship we witnessed only comes from having done something tens of thousands of times!

First, a slurry consisting of soaked, raw rice which has been ground with water, is spread very thinly onto an extremely hot plate. A bamboo lid covers the rice sheet which is steamed for some 45 seconds. 

Using a long, narrow stick the cooked rice sheet is lifted onto a wide, bamboo drying rack which resembles a stretcher and taken out into the sun to dry.

The woven pattern of the racks gives the rice papers their distinctive appearance, which factory-made ones mimic. The dried, finished rice papers are stacked up and taken to market to sell. They are sold for a premium because they are hand-made.