This Asian Inspired Brown Rice salad is so tasty and requires very little time on the tools. We’ve served it with salmon but you can use chicken, tofu or even prawns. This is also a great salad to make on a Sunday and have for lunch during the week as it keeps really well.
This Week
2 Dec - 8 Dec
Meal Prep Guide
Cook 1 cup of brown rice as per packet instructions (allow to cool before storing in an airtight container in the fridge)
Prepare the veggies (store together in an airtight container in the fridge)
- Finely dice half a cucumber.
- Finely dice one capsicum.
Make the dressing (store in a glass jar in the fridge)
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 2 Tbsp tamari
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp ginger (grated)
- 1 garlic clove (crushed)
Method
- Add all ingredients into a glass jar and shake well to combine.
Tips
- When you’re using rice in a salad we like to spread it out over a large plate or tray to allow it to cool and excess moisture to evaporate. This prevents the rice from going gluggy, sticking together and diluting the dressing.
- If you’re keeping this salad for lunch the next day add the cos lettuce just as you’re serving. Lettuce has a high water content and has the tendency to go soggy if left for too long.
Shortcuts
Vegetables
- You can swap out the snow peas for 1 cup of cooked edamame beans or some blanched green beans cut into bite-sized pieces.
- You could also use half the amount of rice and add ¼ red cabbage (finely sliced).
Protein
- Swap out the salmon for smoked salmon, tinned wild salmon or even tinned tuna.
- For a vegetarian option you can pan-fry some tofu and then pour over ¼ of the salad dressing and let it marinate for 20 minutes or so to absorb all of the yummy flavours in the dressing.
- Swap salmon for chicken or prawns. We love using this simple miso, ginger marinade.
Ingredients
- 450g chicken breast (cut into bite-sized pieces) or prawns
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp miso
- 1 Tbsp tamari
- 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 1 tbsp ginger (grated)
Method
- Marinade the chicken pieces or prawns in the honey, miso, tamari, garlic and ginger; pan-fry in a little coconut oil until cooked through.
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 cup brown rice
- ½ cucumber (finely diced)
- 1 capsicum (finely diced)
- 1 carrot (julienned or grated)
- ½ cup fresh coriander (roughly chopped)
- ½ cup cashews (roasted and roughly chopped)
- 120g baby cos, 1 bag (roughly torn)
Dressing
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 2 Tbsp tamari
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp ginger (grated)
- 1 garlic clove (crushed)
Salmon
- 400-500g salmon fillet
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Cook the brown rice as per packet instructions. Once the rice has cooked, spread it over a large plate and set aside to cool.
- While the rice is cooking, prepare the vegetables and the salad dressing. Add all the dressing ingredients into a glass jar and shake well to combine.
- Once the rice has cooled, pour the salad dressing over the rice and add the capsicum, carrot, cucumber, coriander and cashews; set aside while you cook the salmon.
- To cook the salmon, start by patting the salmon dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Add a little olive oil to a large fry pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, place the salmon fillets skin-side down into the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes, pressing down with a spatula to prevent the fillets from curling. Flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes (note time will vary depending on the thickness of the fillet and preference).
- Once you’re ready to serve, toss through the cos and enjoy alongside the salmon.
Variations
Vegetables
- You can swap out the snow peas for 1 cup of cooked edamame beans or some blanched green beans cut into bite-sized pieces.
- You could also use half the amount of rice and add ¼ red cabbage (finely sliced).
Protein
- Swap out the salmon for smoked salmon, tinned wild salmon or even tinned tuna.
- For a vegetarian option you can pan-fry some tofu and then pour over ¼ of the salad dressing and let it marinate for 20 minutes or so to absorb all of the yummy flavours in the dressing.
- Swap salmon for chicken or prawns. We love using this simple miso, ginger marinade.
Ingredients
- 450g chicken breast (cut into bite-sized pieces) or prawns
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp miso
- 1 Tbsp tamari
- 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 1 tbsp ginger (grated)
Method
- Marinade the chicken pieces or prawns in the honey, miso, tamari, garlic and ginger; pan-fry in a little coconut oil until cooked through.
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