Rice Salads

Potluck Rice Salad

Fast to prepare if you have a food processor to grate and chop the vegetables.

Stores well, good to take to a picnic or potluck.

• 3 cups cooked rice
• 1 cup chopped green onions plus chopped white tails
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper
• 1 tsp. celery seed

Dressing:

• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 6 tsp. rice vinegar or white vinegar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 6 tsp. soya sauce

Mix rice, onions, celery, carrots, green pepper, celery seed in a large bowl.

Combine ingredients for sauce in a small glass jar or plastic container with lid and shake well.

Pour sauce over rice mixture and mix well.

Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

Mix again, well, after removing from fridge.

Georgian Bay Brown Rice Salad

A player from Norm's hockey team invited us to his Georgian Bay beach house.
The children were excited to be there because his wife was a famous children's book illustrator.

They soon forgot the books when they saw the view from the house, that was built on a cliff overlooking the choppy water. It was a long walk from the house down a steep sandy trail to the beach and the waves that day were high and cold.

We stayed close to the shore, jumping in the shallows, but were all pleasantly exhausted and excited when we got back to the house.

To my surprise, my kids, who were fans of mini pizzas and Kraft dinner, gobbled the curried rice at the buffet.

The illustrator was nice enough to write out the recipe and give it to me that day. Here it is.

Serves 6-8

• 1 cup cooked peas (use an 8 oz can of of green pigeon peas or black-eyed peas, or lightly steam frozen peas)
• 1-1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
• two 4-1/2 oz tins small shrimp OR dice the meat of 2 skinless, deboned chicken breasts OR omit shellfish/meat
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1-1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Cook the brown rice, then toss the cooked rice with the peas, shrimp or chicken, onions, celery, almonds and parsley in a large bowl.

Chill in the fridge.

Make the dressing:

• 1/2 cup canola, sunflower or vegetable oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 tsp. curry powder
• 3 tbsps. lemon juice
• 3 tsp. soy sauce
• 3 tsp. honey

Whisk the dressing in a bowl or blend in a blender.
Chill in the fridge ten minutes, whisk again.
Combine with the rice mixture (use less dressing, to taste, if omitting the shrimp or meat.)
Serve immediately or chill until serving. 

Chinese Wild Rice Salad

• 1/3 cup wild rice
• 1/3 cup jasmine rice
• 2 mandarin oranges, peeled and segmented
• 1 lime, peeled and segmented
• ¼ cup sliced mint leaves
• ¼ cup coriander leaves
• 1-1/2 tbsp lime juice
• 1-1/2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• ¼ tsp ground white pepper

Cook wild rice and jasmine rice in separate small saucepans of boiling water according to package directions.

Drain.

Rinse under cold water.
Drain again.
Place rice in a bowl with mandarin and lime segments, mint and coriander.
Combine lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and white pepper.
Add  to rice and toss to combine.