Crispy Rice Salad

Serves: 4  | Ready in: 1 hour + overnight chill of the cooked rice | Difficulty: Easy

A great salad is all about the texture and flavor; this Crispy Rice Salad levels up in both those areas. Packed with crispy character and classic Thai flavors that marry sweetness, spiciness and saltiness. This salad is perfect as a side or on its own.

Ingredients

Rice mixture:

200g Tropical Sun USA Easy Cook Rice

Tropical Sun Vegetable Oil, for frying

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated

1/2 head cabbage (sweetheart, white or red)

2 spring onions, roughly chopped

1 large carrot, grated

Dressing:

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce (or light soy sauce)

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon agave syrup

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Garnish:

Large handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Handful fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

Method

1. Cook the rice according to the directions on the package. Once cooked, drain to make sure there’s no water left. Spread the rice out on a baking tray and allow to cool completely at room temperature. Leave overnight in the fridge to dry out.
2. The next day, pour enough oil into a large frying pan to cover the base of it generously. Heat over a medium-high heat. Test the temperature by dropping a grain of rice into the oil, if it starts to bubble it is ready.
3. Turn the heat down to medium-low then take a handful of rice and add it to the oil. Stand back as the oil will bubble up and may spit. Once the rice has reached a golden colour, remove from the oil with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with some paper kitchen towel. Repeat this two more times so you have about 3 handfuls of crispy rice.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and decant most of the oil into a heatproof container, leaving some oil in the pan.
5. Return the pan to the heat. Add the ginger and cook over a medium-low heat for 1 minute. Add the cabbage and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring often, until softened slightly. Add the remaining cooled rice, the spring onions and grated carrot and stir together in the pan on the heat.
6. In a jug, mix all of the dressing ingredients together. Pour over the rice and vegetables in the pan and stir to coat.
7. Tip the contents of the pan out onto a serving dish. Top with the crispy rice, coriander, mint and red onion. Eat warm .
8. Note: If you’re finding that the oil is spitting excessively when frying, the rice is still to moist. You need to dry it out a bit more before frying. To do this, transfer the tray of rice to an oven heated to 100 C and let it toast for 10-15 minutes in there, stirring occasionally, until it feels dry.