Have you ever had black rice?
It’s also known as forbidden rice or purple rice, and it’s a nutty, antioxidant-rich grain popular in Asia.
I found out about black rice a few years ago, and I’ve been using it as a grain salad base ever since.
I love this slightly-spicy Asian-inspired mix. The dressing/sauce ingredients store well which means I typically have them all on-hand at any given time, and I usually have edamame in my freezer and black rice in my pantry.
From there, it’s just a matter of dicing whatever vegetables I have in my fridge or garden and tossing everything together.
I love throwing this recipe together as an easy make-ahead lunch. It’s so simple to dice veggies and whisk a dressing together while the rice cooks, so it’s one of my favorite Sunday meal prep options when I’m a little short on time but still want to make sure I have a week’s worth of lunch at the ready.
This recipe makes 6-8 servings, depending on serving size.
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INGREDIENTS:
Quick note: These measurements are estimations. You can add more or less of each ingredient to taste.
- 1.5 cups black rice – cooked according to package instructions, drained and cooled
- 5-6 medium-sized radishes – sliced into rounds or strips
- 1 package (6-8 ounces) frozen edamame – cooked according to package instructions and shelled
- 1 red bell pepper – chopped
- 6 ounces sugar snap peas – strings removed and halved
- 1 bunch green onions – sliced
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp honey
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- Salt to taste
- Sriracha to taste
- Optional mix-ins: shredded carrots, grated ginger, shredded purple cabbage, cilantro, cucumber
PROCESS:
Pile your rice, radishes, edamame, bell pepper and peas in a large bowl. In a smaller, separate bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, honey, olive oil, garlic powder, sesame oil, salt and Sriracha to make the dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and combine. Top with sliced green onions. Serve cold.
Tip: You can make this as spicy as you’d like – just adjust your Sriracha levels accordingly.
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Enjoy!
