It’s that in-between season where the evenings turn just a touch cooler as we experience that definite shift away from the brightness of summer to something more cozy and comforting.
And, whilst we are still in a salad mood, we’re thinking they should add extra depth of flavour, a nutritional boost, a sense of fullness and a punch of crunch.
Needless to say our scrumptious Mushroom and Crispy Rice Salad is the one we turn to. It’s the perfect side dish, can double up as a light lunch and the flavoursome dressing makes it one of our favourite salad picks.
Sautéed Mushroom and Crispy Rice Medley
World Happiness Day is on 20th March – Here's a Autumn Salad that will brighten up your day
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 2 tbsps peanut butter
- 2 tbsps hot water
- 1 clove garlic grated
- 2 tsp ginger grated
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 4 tbsps rice vinegar
Crispy rice:
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesami oil
- 2 tbsp gochujang*
*Gochujang is a spicy, fermented chilli paste used in Korean cuisine. It is readily available at all Asian supermarkets as well as Woolworths, Checkers, Yuppiechef and a lot of online retailers e.g. Faithful to Nature.
Salad:
- 2 spring onions sliced
- 1 ripe avocado diced
- 1 small Mediterranean cucumber diced
- 1 head baby white cabbage very thinly sliced
- 100g steamed broccoli cooled and finely diced
- handful fresh mint leaves roughly chopped
- handful of coriander roughly chopped
- 250g white button mushrooms sliced
- 100g fresh lettuce leaves
- 2 tbsps roasted peanuts roughly chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- lime wedges for serving
Instructions
For the Dressing:
- Combine the peanut butter and hot water and whisk.Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.Taste to adjust seasoning and then set aside until serving.
For the crispy rice:
Preheat oven to 200˚C.
- Place cooked rice in a bowl with the soy sauce, sesame oil and gochujang.Mix the seasoning thoroughly into the rice with your hands so every grain is covered.
- Transfer to a baking tray lined with baking paper.Spread the rice out in a thin layer.
- Transfer to a baking tray lined with baking paper.Spread the rice out in a thin layer.
- Bake for 10 minutes and then agitate, flipping the rice over to evenly brown all the grains.Bake for another 10 minutes until brown and crispy.
- Set aside to cool.
For the salad:
- Combine all of the salad ingredients except for the lettuce leaves and peanuts together in a large bowl.Season with a little salt and pepper, mix.Add the crispy rice and pour over the dressing.Toss to mix well.
- Assemble dressed salad on a large serving platter.Plate lettuce leaves alongside the chopped salad.Scatter with peanuts and serve with lime wedges on the side and enjoy!