Brown Rice & Edamame Bean Salad with Miso Dressing
This salad has all the right elements - crunch, texture and balanced flavours. It reminds me of a salad I was responsible for preparing at my first chef job at Lambretta’s in Nelson. The original salad recipe used fermented black bean paste (which could also be used in place of the miso) but as I always have a jar of locally produced Urban Hippie miso in my fridge that is what I use. As always the key to a good salad dressing (or any cooking for that matter) is the balance of flavours, therefore taste and adjust as you go.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (150g) brown rice - can use either medium or long-grain rice
- 1½ cups (375ml) boiling water
- Pinch of salt
- 1½ cups (250g) frozen podded edamame beans (broad beans or green peas would also work)
- 1 red capsicum, diced (or 3-4 radish or 2 carrots, thinly sliced)
- 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp sunflower seeds, toasted
- 3 tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted
Miso dressing:
- 1 tbsp miso paste
- 1 tsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1-2 tbsp lime or lemon juice
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1-2 tsp brown sugar or honey
- 2 cm piece of fresh ginger, finely grated
Instructions
- This is my go-to way to prepare brown rice (different from white rice) - it benefits from pre-soaking in boiling water to soften the outer layer for more even and faster cooking. Put the brown rice into a bowl and cover it with boiling water. Set aside to soak for a minimum of 1 hour and up to 8 hours - I often soak the rice in the morning to cook for dinner.
- Drain the rice in a sieve and place it into a saucepan. Add the 1½ cups of boiling water (not cold water) and salt and cover with a lid. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes until “tunnels” appear on the surface of the rice. Lift the lid as little as possible or the precious steam is released. Remove from the heat and leave to steam, covered, for 10-15 minutes. After this time, tip into a shallow bowl to cool.
- Par-boil the edamame beans for 5 minutes then drain and refresh in cold water. Add to the rice.
- Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a bowl. Taste and adjust the flavour with extra lime/lemon and/or sweetener as needed.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the salad bowl, spoon over the dressing and mix well to combine. Serve with the tofu from the previous recipe, or grilled chicken or salmon.