Best Crunchy Rice Salad Recipes

CRUNCHY VEGETABLE AND BROWN RICE SALAD

Steps:

• Fill a 2-quart saucepan three fourths full with salted water and bring to a boil. Add rice and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 25 minutes. Drain rice in a colander and rinse under cold running water until cool. Drain rice well.
• While rice is cooking, cut zucchini, celery, carrot, and bell pepper into 1/4-inch dice. Remove tough stems from arugula and chop leaves. Chop scallions.
• Have ready a bowl of ice and cold water. In a saucepan of boiling salted water blanch zucchini, celery, carrot, and bell pepper 1 minute. Drain vegetables in a sieve and transfer to ice water to stop cooking. Drain vegetables well.
• In a large bowl whisk together lemon juice, broth, mustard, oil, salt, and pepper. Add rice, blanched vegetables, arugula, and scallions, tossing to combine well, and season with salt and pepper. Serve salad at room temperature.

BROWN RICE SALAD WITH CRUNCHY SPROUTS AND SEEDS

Steps:

• Purée chives, oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor until smooth. Strain chive vinaigrette through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl.
• Cook dried sprouted legumes in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water until just tender, about 5 minutes. Cover pot; remove from heat. Let stand for 3 minutes; drain. Rinse legumes under cold water to cool; drain. Transfer to a large bowl. DO AHEAD: Vinaigrette and legumes can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately; chill.
• Add zucchini, rice, scallions, seeds, nuts, and chive vinaigrette to bowl with legumes; toss to combine. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired.

CRUNCHY PORK AND RICE SALAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, toss together cabbage, pork, rice, peas and water chestnuts. In a small bowl, combine dressing ingredients; mix well. Pour over the salad and stir gently to mix. Chill for several hours.

LIME LEAF CHICKEN SALAD WITH LIME AIOLI, CRUNCHY LIME TOPPING ON CHARRED TOMATO-BROWN RICE PILAF

Steps:

• For the lime aioli: Place the vegetable oil, mustard, limes leaves, egg yolk and lime juice in a tall container. Blend the ingredients using a hand blender until the lime aioli becomes thick. Place the mixture in a bowl, season with salt, cover and place in fridge.
• For the chicken salad: Place the chicken, limes leaves, celery, onions, bay leaves, peppercorns, some salt and 10 cups cold water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and skim the impurities. After about 1 hour, turn the heat off and allow the chicken to rest for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth and remove the skin. Strain and reserve 3 3/4 cups chicken stock for the brown rice pilaf. Refrigerate or freeze the remaining stock. Once the chicken has cooled, shred the chicken meat by hand and place in a bowl. Mix the lime aioli with the shredded chicken meat, season with salt and place in the fridge until assembly.
• For the crunchy lime topping: Place the celery, olive oil, green onions, lime zest and juice in a small bowl. Season with salt, mix and reserve for assembly.
• For the charred tomato: In a cast-iron pan, heat a couple tablespoons olive oil over medium to high heat. Season the tomatoes with sugar, salt and pepper. Sear the tomatoes on both sides until charred, remove from the heat and reserve until assembly.
• For the brown rice pilaf: Heat the vegetable oil in a wide, tall-rimmed pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until tender and translucent. Add the bay leaf and rice and stir to coat the rice in oil. Add the reserved 3 3/4 cups chicken stock and the soy sauce and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer and place the lid ajar over the pot. Cook until rice is tender, 30 to 40 minutes, then fluff with a fork and set aside.
• To assemble the lime leaf chicken salad: Place some brown rice pilaf on the bottom of each serving plate. Place 2 pieces of charred tomato on each plate over the pilaf. Place equal amounts of lime leaf chicken salad on top of the charred tomatoes. Spoon the crunchy lime topping over. Garnish each plate with celery leaves and drizzle of olive oil.

CRUNCHY RICE SALAD

Steps:

• Cook rice using package directions (omit salt) and let cool.
• Combine the rice, oranges, onions, celery, water chestnuts, and mushrooms in a serving bowl, tossing to mix.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, oil, and soy sauce.
• Pour dressing over rice mixture and mix gently. Chill until ready to serve.