Japanese Style Rice Salad Recipes

JAPANESE-STYLE RICE SALAD

Steps:

• Cook rice in abundant salted water, as you would pasta, until it's just done; white rice will take 10 to 15 minutes, brown 30 or a little longer. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain again, then combine with vegetables and tofu in a large bowl.
• Put black pepper, miso, water or sake, sugar, mirin or honey, and vinegar in a small bowl, and whisk together. Taste, and add more vinegar and a pinch of salt, if needed.
• Combine rice mixture with miso dressing with 2 big forks, fluffing rice and tossing gently to separate grains.
• Crumble nori over salad and sprinkle with sesame seeds, taste, and adjust seasoning or moisten with a little more dressing. Serve at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to a day, bringing salad back to room temperature before serving.

JAPANESE CUCUMBER SALAD

Steps:

• If using English or regular cucumbers, they need to be peeled, cut lengthwise, seeded and sliced into thin half moons.
• In a large bowl, combine cucumbers, salt and pepper, mix well.
• Add sugar(or honey), soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil and mix well.
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds and mix.
• Let marinate for 20 minutes before serving.
• Adjust seasonings before serving.

THE WORLD OF RICE SALADS

Steps:

• Put the rice and all the vegetables in a large bowl. Drizzle with vinaigrette and use two big forks to combine, fluffing the rice and tossing gently to separate the grains.
• Stir in the parsley, taste, and adjust the seasoning or moisten with a little more dressing. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate for up to a day, bringing the salad back to room temperature before serving.
• Variations:
• Rice Salad, Japanese Style: Use brown or white short-grain rice. Halve the amount of celery and carrot and finely chop them or shred them on a grater. Add 1 cup cubed firm tofu (preferably baked). Instead of the vinaigrette, toss with 1/4 cup or so of Simple Miso Dipping Sauce (made by whisking together 6 tablespoons miso paste, 3/4 cup warm water or sake, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 tablespoon mirin or honey, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar plus more to taste, and salt to taste). Instead of the parsley, crumble 2 sheets of nori over the rice salad and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons black or white sesame seeds.
• Rice Salad, Mexican Style: Long-grain or medium-grain, white or brown, all work well here. When blending the vinaigrette, add 1 tablespoon chili powder and 2 tablespoons Mexican crema or mayonnaise. Instead of celery and carrot, add 1 cup chopped fresh tomato. Substitute chopped fresh cilantro for the parsley and, at the same time, add 2 chopped hard-cooked eggs and chopped jalapeño chiles if you like. Serve with lime wedges.
• Rice Salad, Indian Style: Use brown or white basmati rice. When making the vinaigrette, use rice wine vinegar, replace the oil with coconut milk, and add 1 tablespoon curry powder, or more to taste. Instead of the bell pepper, celery, and carrot, add 1/2 cup each cubed cooked potato, cooked cauliflower florets, and green peas (cooked frozen are fine). Substitute cilantro for the parsley.
• Citrus Rice Salad: Use any rice. Instead of red wine vinegar, make the vinaigrette with freshly squeezed citrus juice-choose from lemon, lime, orange, blood orange, tangerine, pink grapefruit, or a combination. Whatever you use, add 2 tablespoons of the grated zest and 1 tablespoon of sugar or honey to the blender. Do not include the scallion or the vegetables. (You might want to use a little less dressing.) Instead of the parsley, use mint if you like. A handful of chopped almonds or pecans make a nice addition.
• Tomato Rice Salad: Use any kind of brown or white rice. When making the vinaigrette, eliminate the vinegar and add 1 medium tomato to the blender. Instead of the scallion and other vegetables, add 2 cups chopped fresh tomato (a mixture of heirloom varieties is nice).Instead of the parsley, use chopped fresh basil or mint, or 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives, chervil, dill, or about a tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves.

ASPARAGUS SALAD, JAPANESE-STYLE

Steps:

• Cut off the woodsy bottoms of the asparagus spears; discard. Cut off the flower ends and set aside.
• Use a vegetable peeler to remove the dark green outer skin of each spear; you should get three or four ribbons from each one. Set aside. Cut the remaining stalks crosswise into 1/4-inch rounds. Combine ribbons, sliced rounds and tips in a bowl.
• Toast the sesame seeds in a small dry skillet over medium-heat, shaking occasionally until they color and begin to pop, but remove from heat before they burn. Combine the seeds with sesame oil, rice vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Taste and adjust as necessary. Spoon over the asparagus and toss gently.

JAPANESE-STYLE RICE SALAD

Steps:

• Cook rice in abundant salted water, as you would pasta, until it's just done; white will take 10-15 minutes, brown 30 minutes or more. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain again, then combine with vegetables and tofu in a large bowl.
• Put black pepper, miso, water or sake, sugar, mirin or honey, and vinegar in a small bowl and whisk together. Taste and add more vinegar and a pinch of salt if needed.
• Combine rice mixture with miso dressing with 2 big forks, fluffing rice and tossing gently to separate grains.
• Crumble nor over salad and sprinkle with sesame seeds, taste, and adjust seasoning or moisten with a little more dressing. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate up to a day, bringing salad back to room temperature before serving.

JAPANESE-STYLE RICE SALAD

Steps:

• In medium saucepan, bring 2 inches water to boil over high heat. Place steamer basket in saucepan, add tempeh, cover and steam 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in large bowl, mix tamari, wasabi powder if using, and sesame oil. Add hot tempeh and mix well to coat. Set aside to marinate while preparing rice. In medium saucepan, bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and salt and return to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until water is absorbed, about 35 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove rice from heat and let stand, covered, 10 minutes. Transfer rice to large bowl and fluff with fork. Drain tempeh; spread on baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned on all sides, about 25 minutes. Bring small saucepan of water to a boil. Add corn, cover and cook 2 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold running water and drain well. Set aside. In small bowl, whisk together vinegar and mirin. Gradually pour mixture over rice while still slightly warm and mix gently to combine. When rice reaches room temperature, add corn, mushrooms, radishes and tempeh and toss to blend. Break thick stems off watercress; discard. Break remaining watercress in half, wash, then dry thoroughly in salad spinner or with paper towels. In large bowl, toss watercress with Peanut-Miso Dressing. Place rice salad and watercress on individual serving plates; garnish with carrots and daikon. Alternatively, if salad is part of a buffet, place rice salad and watercress side by side on large serving platter; arrange carrots and daikon on separate plate.

FAMOUS JAPANESE RESTAURANT-STYLE SALAD DRESSING

Steps:

• Combine minced onion, peanut oil, rice vinegar, water, ginger, celery, ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in a blender. Blend until all ingredients are well-pureed, about 30 seconds.

JAMBALAYA RICE SALAD

Steps:

• Prepare rice according to package directions; cool. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add ham and onion; cook and stir until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add next 6 ingredients; cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar., Combine rice, ham mixture, shrimp, celery and peppers. Refrigerate, covered, at least 2 hours. Add tomatoes; toss to combine. Sprinkle with green onions.

ARMENIAN-STYLE POTATO SALAD

Steps:

• Transfer sliced potatoes into a large pot with enough cold water to cover the potatoes by a couple of inches. Stir in 1 rounded tablespoon kosher salt and 2 ½ teaspoons dried mint. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and let cook until tender, about 15 minutes, checking every 5 to 6 minutes for doneness. Drain well.
• Transfer cooked potatoes to a large mixing bowl and let cool slightly.
• While potatoes cool, heat ¼ cup olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add red onion, red bell pepper, garlic, and a pinch of salt; cook and stir for just 1 minute. Turn off the heat and stir in remaining dried mint.
• Drizzle freshly squeezed lemon juice into potatoes and toss gently with a spatula. Add green onions, red onion mixture, remaining olive oil, fresh mint, fresh parsley, salt to taste, black pepper, chili flakes, and cayenne. Mix with a spatula until combined.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled and flavors have melded, 3 to 4 hours.
• Unwrap; stir, taste, and adjust seasonings as needed to personal tastes. The salad almost always needs more salt stirred in once it's tasted after being chilled. Serve.