Cold Brown Rice Salad

In a Sesame, Ginger, Lime Vinnaigrette with Cashews & Mandarin Orange Slices

"A woman should never be seen eating or drinking, unless it be lobster salad and Champagne, the only true feminine and becoming viands."

Lord Byron

Um, yeah, whatever. As good as salad is, it is something I rarely order in restaurants or have for dinner on its own. I just don't find it very satisfying most of the time, and I think I have a feeling why that is. Lettuce heavy salads make great side dishes but sometimes just don't hit the spot like a carby one. Hence the wonderful world of rice and noodle salads. Yum. 

I whipped up this brown rice salad to act as a side dish/main course for our chicken skewers we planned to BBQ that night. I thought an Asian style dressing would compliment the soy-chili marinade I had used for the chicken, and it was a perfect pairing. I'm going to include a list of ingredients but the beauty of this dish is that you can make it however you like. I happen to always have frozen peas in the freezer, cherry tomatoes, and green onions so those are all things I threw into the mix. Use up older veggies or even throw in some chicken - whatever you have handy. 

There may be no lobster in this salad, but you can still enjoy it with a glass of champagne. Is that lady-like enough? Better have two glasses, just to be sure.

You will need...

4 cups cooked garlic brown rice

2 stalks green onion, sliced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas

1 cup canned or fresh mandarin orange slices

1/2 cup mushrooms, finely sliced

1 cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes

1 cup cashews, roughly chopped

Any other vegetables would work just as well - carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, etc.

Sesame Ginger Lime Vinaigrette....

2 tbs sesame oil

2 tbs peanut oil (or canola)

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

2 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp minced garlic

2 limes, juiced

1 tbs fresh ginger, grated

1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted

Make the dressing first by whisking all ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside. 

In a large salad bowl, add cooled rice to the chopped ingredients. Toss. 

Pour the dressing over top of the salad and mix well to combine. 

Serve cold topped with extra green onion or cilantro.