Peanuts & Brown Rice with Asian Dressing
Synonymous with memories of back home, games, circus, picnics, cocktail & rainy day snacks and, of course, peanut butter sandwiches now, peanuts are an all time favorite among us.
Peanuts are however not true nuts, as most of you might know. The “Nut” is a member of a family of legumes related to peas, lentils, chickpeas and other beans. Being a legume, the peanuts contain high amount of protein. A lot of peanuts, some chewy, nutty brown rice & some veggies have been tossed together here for a quick, crunchy salad. It looks like an Asian Fried Rice, I must say almost tastes like one, but there is no frying here.
When Foodbuzz sent a coupon code of $30 for the Asian Grocers, I could not pass a chance to use that up. The online store has a lot of Asian delicacies to choose from, not just food but pretty plates, bowls , chopsticks etc (I ordered quite a few things from this section & the serving bowls & dishes here are from the Asian Grocers). I also got a 4.5 lb bag of short grained brown rice. The service was very prompt & I received my order in less than a week. Thank you Foodbuzz & Asian Grocers.
Since we have turned to using a lot of brown rice in our daily meals now, I used up the rice to make this quick & healthy Peanuts & Rice Toss Salad. It makes a nice & quick meal in a bowl.
Peanuts & Rice with Asian Dressing
Ingredients: (serves 2, as a meal)
- 1 Cup Short Grained Brown Rice
- 1.5 Cups Water
- 1.5 Cups Peanuts
- 1/2 Red Bell Pepper, diced
- 1 Large Carrot, diced
- Few Hot Chilli Peppers, thinly sliced
- 4-5 Stalks of Scallions, thinly sliced – Whites & the Greens
- 1/2 Small Red Onion, diced
- 1 Teaspoon Oil
- Fresh Lime
Other interesting vegetables to use, & use as much as you please: Corn, Baby Corn, Snow Peas, Broccoli, Green Peppers, Mushrooms, Mung Sprouts, Tofu & whatever you want!! This is the kind of dish which changes taste, texture & flavor by the vegetables you are using; don’t be afraid…
For the Dressing:
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (Optional – only if you want it spicy)
- 1″ Ginger grated, & the juice extracted (Save the Juice, discard the fiber)
- 1 Full Tablespoon Sesame Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Lite Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
- Hot Sauce, any kind like Sriracha ( To Taste/Optional)
- 1 Tablespoon Roasted Sesame Seeds, muddled with a rolling pin or mortar & pestle
- 1 Short Stalk of Lemon Grass – about 2 inches of the tender part, sliced & muddled well
- Salt
Preparation:
Cook the rice as per the instructions (of whatever kind of rice you are using). I used 1.5 cups of water + 1 cup of rice + Salt to taste & cooked it in the rice cooker. Keep in mind tho’ that the rice should not be soft & mushy. This is like a salad, so it tastes best if the rice remains separate & slightly chewy & crunchy.When done cooking, fluff the rice with a fork & cool to about room temp, about 30 minutes. Set aside.
Meanwhile, place skillet with 1 teaspoon of oil over high heat. Add the diced onions, bell peppers & carrots. Stir fry for a couple of minutes only. Do not overcook. The vegetables need to stay crunchy. Take them off the heat & set aside.
If you are not using ready made roasted peanuts: Heat a skillet big enough to hold the peanuts in a single layer; add peanuts; cook and stir 3 to 4 minutes or until fragrant and beginning to brown. Take it off the heat & set aside.
Whisk all the ingredients of the dressing together.
Toss the stir fried vegetables, scallions, hot chilli peppers, & peanuts with the cooked rice. Add the dressing & toss well. Finish it off with a generous squeeze of lime.
We ate ours as a meal. But this is perfect as a side salad too. Loved the various distinctive texture that dish had to offer. The crunchy peanuts, the very nutty & chewy brown rice with almost raw veggies blended together really well. You may make this another dish all together by changing the dressing & the kind of vegetables you use.
Sending this to Susan’s (The Well Seasoned Cook) MLLA #16, hosted by Jeanne at Cook Sister.
Related Posts:
Quinoa with Apricot, Asparagus & Almond
Tags: asian dressing, asian food grocer, asian peanut & rice, asian toss salad, brown rice, brown rice recipe, brown rice salad, earthnuts, eggless, eggless salad dressing, foodbuzz, ginger, gluten free, goober peas, ground nuts, heatlthy rice salad, hulled rice, monkey nuts, peanut rice, Peanuts, rice & peanuts, rice & vegetables, roasted peanuts, salad with asian dressing, scallions, Sesame, sesame oil, short grain brown rice, toss salad, unmilled, vegan, vegetables, what to do with brown rice, whole grain
October 14th, 2009 at 8:15 am
The rice looks great Soma. The red bell pepper is amazing both in the looks and taste. Peanuts add taste and texture to any dish.
October 14th, 2009 at 8:29 am
That rice looks so colorful dear….Peanuts ,peppers n rice would be a great combo na…
October 14th, 2009 at 8:54 am
This looks so perfect…great recipie !!
October 14th, 2009 at 9:20 am
That salad looks really beautiful and so promising! A delicious and tasty dish, yummy!
Cheers,
Rosa
October 14th, 2009 at 9:47 am
The rice with peanuts sounds excellent! I love the flavors of the dressing!
October 14th, 2009 at 10:08 am
soooo pretty and bright!! sound appetizingly yumm!!
cheers and have a great weekend!
October 14th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Oh boy my mouth is watering as I look at that salad. It just sounds and looks so good. I bet the dressing finished it off beautifully! Such gorgeous photos too Soma
October 14th, 2009 at 10:43 am
Foodbuzz sent coupon, great for them! The peanuts and rice have a scrumptious color – really so intriguing and wonderful dish
Cheers!
Gera
October 14th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
The bowls are pretty choice! The rice and dressing are simply gorgeous!
October 14th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
The colors are so appealing. The ingredients make the dish sound phenominal. Notes are being taken.
October 14th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
What gorgeous colorful photos Soma! That looks so refreshing and delicious… I love peanuts (or other nuts) in dishes. Gives it just that good bit of crunch!
October 14th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
I can see how peanuts will pair well with brown rice. That dreadding sounds awesome! and the best part is, you could eat this dish as a hot entree or a cold salad!!
October 14th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Gorgeous & colorful dressing Soma. I love your plates and bowls here.
October 14th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
wow!! Looks very yummy and colorful. I always love this kind of Asian food.
October 14th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Thats so colorful! The peanuts will add extra crunchiness to the salad,i love peanuts and bell pepper combo!
October 14th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
I just love the attention you pay to your colour combos in your food.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
This is my kind of dish. I love brown rice dishes and the peanuts sounds like they add great texture and flavor. Such a beautiful, colorful meal! I love your bowls!
October 14th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
this is absolutely gorgeous Suma, the dish and the pics. I have to try! Bookmarked!
October 14th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
rice looks yum,..Wish u and ur family happy diwali
October 15th, 2009 at 3:00 am
Wow i am bookmarking this one, looks beautiful and so so delicous.
October 15th, 2009 at 5:57 am
Beautiful! And so healthy and nutritious, I’d love to have this for lunch
October 15th, 2009 at 9:24 am
This sound so good! We are a peanut loving family and this sounds like such a great idea!
October 15th, 2009 at 10:59 am
This looks gorgeous, Soma. Those flavours (especially the peanuts) sounds very tempting.
Happy Diwali to you and family.
October 15th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Fantastic as usual! Great flavors I would love to have that one for lunch.
October 15th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
That does look amazing. Love the brown rice and peanuts together– they complement each other perfectly.
October 15th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Gosh, that salad looks like a wonderful blend of veggies and asian flavor. I just got an Asian salad mix with peanut dressing, so am gonna give a go to this!
btw, hope you can find some time to make some goodies for my Sweet celebration event
October 16th, 2009 at 4:21 am
So healthy colourful the salad looks.I cannot take my eyes off the last pic .I like brown rice but my family does not .So I rarely use it.Looks great the combi salad.
October 16th, 2009 at 7:08 am
The bowls are beautiful! I love peanuts in my savory food – and this dressing sounds spicy and delicious – I bet it would be good on other things too. So fresh and vibrant.
October 16th, 2009 at 8:17 am
your salads are such a variation and a treat for the eyes. A colorful salad is so tempting. Will try this one.
October 17th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
That brown rice salad looks nice and fresh and good!
October 19th, 2009 at 5:46 am
Gosh!That looks just out of this world:)Happy Diwali!
October 20th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
that’s v interesting, i’ve a pack of brown rice, must see if it’s still edible.
October 21st, 2009 at 6:56 am
Looks yummy….like the vibrant colors…
October 21st, 2009 at 1:44 pm
It’s so colourful! lovely flavours too!
October 28th, 2009 at 11:29 am
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November 3rd, 2009 at 11:26 am
I had something similar in a vegetarian cafe here….there was toasted sesame seed and nori seaweed and I could taste sesame oil and lemon juice too
November 25th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
[...] Peanuts & Brown Rice with Asian Dressing | eCurry – The Recipe Blog [...]
March 18th, 2010 at 8:08 am
This looks amazing!! I never thought to put peanuts with brown rice. Genius!
July 11th, 2010 at 5:28 am
what i love about asian foods is that they are always tasty and spice.`*