What Soy Paper is Made of
Firstly, soy paper contains many ingredients. Generally the main ingredients are sesame seeds, soybean, soy flour, soybean oil, and organic rice syrup, and extract food coloring.
Later these materials are mixed into a thin soy paper through first mixture and later compression of heavy weights. But the main ingredient in this process is soy beans.
Taste of Soy Paper
Contrastingly you can’t really taste anything from the soy papers due to it being from soybeans. Hence making it a really great seaweed alternative that doesn’t have any fish smell or other weird smells to them.
Further along, many popular brands add their own flavor to the sushi wraps to give enhanced appeal. So sushi wrap is notably a great edible option to really enjoy the delicacy of the flavor of sushi.
Besides being edible as a sushi wrap, it also contains no special smell to them. Which makes it best for tasting the sushi rolls without problems of the usual sushi nori seaweed fishy taste getting in the way.
Soybean Paper Substitute
Beyond using soybean paper, there also many other options that are available to be used as substitute.
Cucumber Wrap
Similarly, cucumber wrap is another very popular option that doesn’t have any strong flavor to them. Besides, they are also very nutritious and work really well for vegetarians.
Further along, all that’s needed to make cucumber wrap is a fresh cucumber and vegetable peeler. From there you only need to insert the peeler to cut out the layers of the cucumber
Rice Paper
Secondly is rice paper which originates from Vietnam. And is another way to roll sushi, and a common roll that uses rice paper are summer rolls.
Generally rice paper can be easily found in markets or online. In order to prepare it, you would need to soften it with water for about 30 minutes. But no more than that or else it will be too soggy to be used.
Seaweed Wrap
Lastly is the seaweed nori wrap that is commonly used in making sushi. And is a very popular choice that can be found in many places.
Generally seaweed nori is placed on a bamboo mat to be applied a layer of rice and other fillings before rolling. When finished rolling it is then cut into 6–8 pieces.
Seaweed VS Soy Paper
In comparison to seaweed, soy paper is a better option that doesn’t have the sea smell associated with sushi. But in terms of nutrition, seaweed would take the prize.
Since there are just so many healthy nutrients that lie in seaweed from omega 3 to magnesium. Also seaweed has as much as 14% of the necessary fiber for an individual all in five grams.
But soy papers are very colorful and more delicate than traditional seaweed. Which really enhances the appeal of the sushi rolls.
Using Soy Paper for Sushi
Making It Stick
Firstly when using the soy paper for the first time, there are many trouble spots you might encounter. One important step is making the soy paper stick to the rice.
Following, the best way to make soy paper or seaweed stick to the rice itself is to use sushi rice for the roll. Otherwise you can dip a few drops of water on the edge of the soy paper to close it up.
Lastly if this doesn’t work, make sure that you had applied a firm enough pressure when you were making the roll. And that there are not too many ingredients that are filled up.
Expiration
Generally many of the soy paper is imported from other countries via sea. Hence the shelf life will only be around 3–9 months and not as long as it could be if it’s domestic.
Furthermore, soy paper due its delicate thinness is very susceptible to high degrees of temperature. Therefore you should seal it very tightly once it is opened and store it in a dry place.
Type of Rolls
Following, the soy wrap is not great at standing the high heat of some foods so it is difficult to make into egg rolls.
However, it will work perfectly for creating your typical sushi rolls. Whether you wish to create hand rolls to fill in all the ingredients or typical sushi roll.
Soy Paper Nutrition
First of all, soy wrap is a great option to work with if you’re looking for something that is gluten free. Since soy wrap is made from soybeans it is entirely gluten free.
Additionally soy wrap is very low in carbs, since each soy wrap only has around 1–2 grams of carbohydrate. Hence it is a nice healthy fit for individuals who are on a keto diet.
Besides being low in carbs, soy paper has no cholesterol, trans fat, saturated fat. And is low in calories, having only 15–20 calories per every sheet.
Best Soy Paper for Sushi
As for which is the best soy paper to be used for making sushi, I would recommend the Yamamotoyama Soy Wrapper(affiliate link)
It contains 20 sheets of sesame soy wrappers and is very mild in taste so it won’t overwhelm the taste of the sushi rolls. While its ingredients are totally non-GMO including the soybean, soy flour, and sesame seeds.
Also the soy sheets are neutral white in color and are around 7 3/4″ by 7 1/4 inches. So it’s definitely the proper size if you’re looking to make general sushi rolls.
