Crispy Rice Salad with Cilantro Dressing and Garlic Ginger Chicken

I’ve been seeing a few different takes on this salad recently, so I decided to try coming up with my own. After a bit of trial and error, I found the perfect spice combinations for a crunchy, filling, and flavorful salad. This salad borrows a lot from Thai and Lao cuisines, featuring a lot of fresh and umami-rich flavors like lime, cilantro, and fish sauce. For vegans, as always, I’ve provided substitutions to make this into a delicious, protein-rich vegan salad. Even if you’re not vegan or vegetarian, the tofu option is a really flavorful opportunity to add a meatless meal to your rotation.

The crunch in this salad comes from a few things, most important of which is the crispy rice. I used brown puffed rice here, you can use any sort of puffed rice you can easily find. It’s a very affordable pantry staple and it really is something special in this salad. Cashews are also heavily featured here, but you can swap out the cashews with peanuts if you prefer.

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Crispy Rice Salad

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Yield: 11x2x3x4x5x

Author: Dahlia Dei

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 50 Min

This flavorful salad is inspired by the popular Sweetgreen bowl, which is a take on the classic Lao Crispy Rice Salad. Packed with amazing flavor and umami, this addictive salad makes a perfect make-ahead lunch.

IngredientsUSMetric

Salad

• 1 heaped cup chopped kale
• 1/2 heaped cup baby arugula
• 1/2 heaped cup sliced or grated purple cabbage
• 1/4 heaped cup grated carrots
• 1/2 heaped cup julienned cucumber
• 1/2 heaped cup crispy rice (recipe below)
• 1/3 cup cashews
• A small handful of cilantro leaves
• Sliced onion
• 2-3 tablespoons Cilantro Cashew dressing (recipe below)
• Sliced Ginger Garlic Chicken or Tofu (recipe below)

Crispy Rice

• 2 cups puffed brown rice
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons ginger powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

Cilantro Cashew Dressing

• 1 large handful cilantro
• 2 limes
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/3 cup cashews
• 1-2 birds eye chilies
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1 inch ginger
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup

Ginger Garlic Chicken or Tofu

• 3 chicken breasts or 1 kg block of firm tofu
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce or soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• 1.5 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste

Instructions Fahrenheit Celsius

For the chicken

1. Preheat oven to 250° C.
2. Pound the chicken breasts until even in thickness.
3. Season the chicken with the oil, fish sauce or soy sauce, tamari, garlic powder, onion powder, ginger powder, pepper, and turmeric.
4. Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes, keeping in mind that the exact time will depend on the size and thickness of the chicken.
5. Remove from the oven and set aside.

For the tofu

1. Cut the tofu block into 1 cm cubes and heat up the sesame oil in a pan on high heat.
2. Add the tofu to the hot pan and then add in the garlic powder, onion powder, ginger powder, black pepper, and turmeric. Toss gently to combine.
3. Allow the tofu to crisp and brown slightly on all sides before adding in the fish sauce, or soy sauce, and tamari and tossing to combine.
4. Remove from the heat and set aside.

For the dressing

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.

For the crispy rice

1. Preheat oven to 180° C.
2. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients together.
3. Spread the seasoned rice evenly on two lined baking trays and bake for 3 minutes.
4. Allow to cool on the baking tray before storing in an air-tight container.

For the salad

1. Combine the salad ingredients together in a bowl and enjoy!

Notes

• To make this recipe vegan, simply opt for the vegan options within the recipe. It is recommended, though, to use vegan fish sauce instead of soy sauce as a fish sauce substitute for a more similar taste.
• Stored correctly, (airtight containers in the refrigerator) all of the components should last between 4-5 days. The crispy rice should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
• To make a big batch of this recipe, you will need a bunch of kale, an English cucumber, a 1/4 of a small head of cabbage, three or four carrots, 1/2 a red onion, a bunch of cilantro, and about 100 g of baby arugula.

Nutritional information not given as the amount of dressing and chicken added to the salad may cause it to vary greatly.

https://dahliadei.com/recipes/crispy-rice-salad-with-cilantro-dressing-and-garlic-ginger-chicken

Lao Crispy Rice Salad, Thai Salad, Chicken Salad

Lunch, Side Dish

Thai, Lao, American

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