Chicken, Rice, and Edamame Salad

This chicken salad breaks out of the traditional chicken salad class with its rice vinegar and mint flavors that sing to your taste buds.

Chicken, Edamame, and Rice Salad

The distinct and powerful taste combination of fresh ginger and mint lends a burst of flavor to this main-dish salad.

Prep: 11 minutes; Cook: 5 minutes; Other: 2 minutes

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup salad and 1 radicchio leaf)

Ingredients

• 1 (8.8-ounce) pouch microwaveable cooked long-grain rice (such as Uncle Ben's Original Ready Rice)  {I just used approximately 1 1/2 cups of cooked long-grain rice}
• 1 1/4 cups frozen shelled edamame (green soybeans)
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 cup diced cooked chicken breast
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 radicchio leaves (optional)

Preparation

1. Microwave rice according to package directions. Set aside; keep warm.
2. Combine edamame and 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave at HIGH 3 minutes. Let stand 2 minutes; drain.
3. Combine rice, edamame, chicken, and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl; toss to coat. Serve over radicchio.

Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast, Oxmoor House 2009.

Curried Rice with Almonds

3 cups cooked rice
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 cup parsley minced
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup toasted almonds, finely chopped

Blend butter and curry powder, add to rice. Mix in parsley salt and almonds. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. serves 6

Coconut Jasmine Rice

Combine 1 cup uncooked jasmine rice, 1 1/4 cups water, 1/2 cup light coconut milk, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer; cook 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from heat; fluff rice with a fork. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro. Yield: 4 servings.

Black Rice Dessert

1 cup black rice
1.5 cups water
1 can coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar

Open coconut milk from bottom of can. Pour coconut milk into a glass and scoop out the cream into a small bowl. Put cream into the fridge. Mix sugar salt and water until all dissolve. Put in rice cooker with black rice and coconut milk. Press button. Wait with bated breath until rice is done. Allow to cool a bit. With wet hands form into balls, place on dessert plates. Dab some coconut cream on each ball.

Garnish with mango or mint leaves or something if you feel extra fancy tonight. This might take advance planning, so you should have decided how fancy you were going to feel ahead of time.

This is the recipe I should have followed, not the recipe I did follow.

Onigiri (Rice Balls)

Very easy, but delectable. It’s just sushi rice formed into a shape with stuff in it, sometimes wrapped in nori (seaweed paper.)

Here’s how I made mine.

Sushi Rice:
1 & 1/2 cups sushi rice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
roasted sesame seeds

Sushi rice tastes much better than long grain rice and will form better balls. It is found in the oriental section of Kroger’s.
1. Put the rice in the rice cooker with 2  cups of water.
2. While the rice is cooking, bring the vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil, then set aside.
3. When the rice is done, pour in the sauce and fluff gently.
4. Sprinkle sesame seeds liberally  and then fluff some more.
5. Taste.
If it needs more sesame seeds, repeat the last 2 steps until it’s good.
6. Form into shapes. I just use my hands to form it into flattened ball shapes or into triangles. I have also done squares and hearts. The rice could be packed into anything to give it shape though, e.g., cookie cutters, mugs, rubber ice cube trays, etc. The key is to make sure your hands and whatever implements you use are wet so the rice doesn’t stick.
7. (optional) Wrap with nori. For ideas on how, see Google.