Asian Brown Rice Salad

This classic northern Thai salad dish is one that Chef Nick Liu of DaiLo restaurant fell in love with during his travels through Asia. It’s fresh, light, delicious and healthy. The inclusion of brown rice is a great way to incorporate whole grains into your daily diet.

Asian Brown Rice Salad




Yield
Makes 4 servings.
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
45 min


Ingredients

Brown Rice:

  • 1 cup (250 mL) U.S. medium grain brown rice
  • 1 crushed clove garlic
  • 1 slice ginger, the size of a toonie
  • 1 piece star anise
  • 1 Jasmine tea bag (optional)

Chili Lime Dressing:

  • 3 seeded chopped red chilies
  • 2 chopped cloves garlic
  • 2 cleaned chopped coriander roots (reserved from coriander leaves below)
  • 1/4 cup (50 mL) palm sugar, if in blocks pound into small bits
  • 1/4 cup (50 mL) fish sauce
  • 3/4 cup (175 mL) lime juice

The Salad:

  • cooked brown rice
  • 1/2 cup (125 mL) cooked ground pork
  • 1/2 cup (125 mL) bean sprouts
  • 1/2 cup (125 mL) pomelo, skin removed broken into small pieces
  • 1/2 cup (125 mL) cucumber, cut into quarters, de-seeded and julienne
  • 2 seeded, julienned long red chilies
  • 1 finely sliced shallot
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) finely sliced garlic scapes
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) finely sliced lemongrass
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) julienned lime leaf
  • 3 tbsp (45 mL) roughly chopped Thai basil
  • 3 tbsp (45 mL) roughly chopped coriander leaves
  • 3 tbsp (45 mL) crushed almonds
  • 1/2 cup (125 mL) chili lime dressing

Directions

Brown Rice:

  1. Place all ingredients in a rice cooker and follow manufacturer’s instructions. When the rice is cooked remove from the rice cooker and discard the ginger, star anise and tea bag.

Chili Lime Dressing:

  1. Separate the leaves from the coriander stem and root. Reserve the leaves for the salad. Place all ingredients in a blender and liquefy on medium until all ingredients are combined and palm sugar has dissolved. Transfer the dressing into an airtight container and set aside until assembly. (This will make approximately 1 cup of dressing, of which ½ cup will be used for the recipe. The additional dressing can be reserved for later use).

The Salad:

  1. Place the cooked brown rice in a ball in the centre of a large platter or serving dish. Group the ingredients, except for the dressing, separately side by side around the rice. Place the dressing on the side in a dish. When the salad is presented to your guests mix all the ingredients with the dressing until all the ingredients are combined. Enjoy!

Coriander roots can easily be found in Asian grocery stores.