Japanese Style Rice Salad Food

JAPANESE CUCUMBER SALAD RECIPE (SUNOMONO)

Steps:

• Thinly slice the cucumber. You can do it either by hand or using a food processor. Rub the slices with salt and drain for 5 minutes in a colander. Rinse under cold running water and squeeze them tightly to remove water. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, mix the sugar, soy sauce, and rice vinegar until the sugar dissolves.
• Add the dressing to the cucumber slices, sprinkle with sesame seeds and mix well. Enjoy!

JAPANESE-STYLE RICE SALAD

Steps:

• Cook rice in abundant salted water, as you would pasta, until it's just done; white rice will take 10 to 15 minutes, brown 30 or a little longer. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain again, then combine with vegetables and tofu in a large bowl.
• Put black pepper, miso, water or sake, sugar, mirin or honey, and vinegar in a small bowl, and whisk together. Taste, and add more vinegar and a pinch of salt, if needed.
• Combine rice mixture with miso dressing with 2 big forks, fluffing rice and tossing gently to separate grains.
• Crumble nori over salad and sprinkle with sesame seeds, taste, and adjust seasoning or moisten with a little more dressing. Serve at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to a day, bringing salad back to room temperature before serving.

SUNOMONO SALAD RECIPE (JAPANESE CUCUMBER SALAD)

Steps:

• Slice all the cucumbers very thin and transfer to a medium sized bowl.
• Sprinkle with salt and toss with your hands to ensure even salt coverage to draw out moisture, Wait 5-10 minutes.
• Then rinse the cucumbers thoroughly to remove the salt, drain, then squeeze all the cucumbers to remove excess moisture. The goal is to remove as much water as you can. Don't be afraid to squeeze hard, the cucumbers can take it!
• Mix the rice vinegar, sugar, salt, soy sauce until dissolved, then add to cucumbers.
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

THE WORLD OF RICE SALADS

Steps:

• Put the rice and all the vegetables in a large bowl. Drizzle with vinaigrette and use two big forks to combine, fluffing the rice and tossing gently to separate the grains.
• Stir in the parsley, taste, and adjust the seasoning or moisten with a little more dressing. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate for up to a day, bringing the salad back to room temperature before serving.
• Variations:
• Rice Salad, Japanese Style: Use brown or white short-grain rice. Halve the amount of celery and carrot and finely chop them or shred them on a grater. Add 1 cup cubed firm tofu (preferably baked). Instead of the vinaigrette, toss with 1/4 cup or so of Simple Miso Dipping Sauce (made by whisking together 6 tablespoons miso paste, 3/4 cup warm water or sake, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 tablespoon mirin or honey, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar plus more to taste, and salt to taste). Instead of the parsley, crumble 2 sheets of nori over the rice salad and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons black or white sesame seeds.
• Rice Salad, Mexican Style: Long-grain or medium-grain, white or brown, all work well here. When blending the vinaigrette, add 1 tablespoon chili powder and 2 tablespoons Mexican crema or mayonnaise. Instead of celery and carrot, add 1 cup chopped fresh tomato. Substitute chopped fresh cilantro for the parsley and, at the same time, add 2 chopped hard-cooked eggs and chopped jalapeño chiles if you like. Serve with lime wedges.
• Rice Salad, Indian Style: Use brown or white basmati rice. When making the vinaigrette, use rice wine vinegar, replace the oil with coconut milk, and add 1 tablespoon curry powder, or more to taste. Instead of the bell pepper, celery, and carrot, add 1/2 cup each cubed cooked potato, cooked cauliflower florets, and green peas (cooked frozen are fine). Substitute cilantro for the parsley.
• Citrus Rice Salad: Use any rice. Instead of red wine vinegar, make the vinaigrette with freshly squeezed citrus juice-choose from lemon, lime, orange, blood orange, tangerine, pink grapefruit, or a combination. Whatever you use, add 2 tablespoons of the grated zest and 1 tablespoon of sugar or honey to the blender. Do not include the scallion or the vegetables. (You might want to use a little less dressing.) Instead of the parsley, use mint if you like. A handful of chopped almonds or pecans make a nice addition.
• Tomato Rice Salad: Use any kind of brown or white rice. When making the vinaigrette, eliminate the vinegar and add 1 medium tomato to the blender. Instead of the scallion and other vegetables, add 2 cups chopped fresh tomato (a mixture of heirloom varieties is nice).Instead of the parsley, use chopped fresh basil or mint, or 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives, chervil, dill, or about a tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves.

FAMOUS JAPANESE RESTAURANT-STYLE SALAD DRESSING

Steps:

• In a blender, combine the minced onion, peanut oil, rice vinegar, water, ginger, celery, ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper . Blend on high speed for about 30 seconds or until all of the ingredients are well-pureed.

SUNOMONO (JAPANESE CUCUMBER SALAD)

Steps:

• Peel cucumbers to leave alternating green stripes. Slice the cucumbers in half lengthwise; scrape the seeds out with a spoon. Using a sharp knife or wide vegetable peeler, cut into very thin slices. Place in a double layer of paper towel and squeeze gently to remove any excess moisture.
• Combine vinegar, sugar and salt in a medium bowl, stirring to dissolve. Add the cucumbers and sesame seeds; toss well to combine. Serve immediately.

JAPANESE-STYLE RICE SALAD

Steps:

• Cook rice in abundant salted water, as you would pasta, until it's just done; white will take 10-15 minutes, brown 30 minutes or more. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain again, then combine with vegetables and tofu in a large bowl.
• Put black pepper, miso, water or sake, sugar, mirin or honey, and vinegar in a small bowl and whisk together. Taste and add more vinegar and a pinch of salt if needed.
• Combine rice mixture with miso dressing with 2 big forks, fluffing rice and tossing gently to separate grains.
• Crumble nor over salad and sprinkle with sesame seeds, taste, and adjust seasoning or moisten with a little more dressing. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate up to a day, bringing salad back to room temperature before serving.

JAPANESE SALAD DRESSING

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and mix together. Store in an airtight container. The salad dressing stays fresh for about 1 week.

JAPANESE-STYLE RICE SALAD

Steps:

• In medium saucepan, bring 2 inches water to boil over high heat. Place steamer basket in saucepan, add tempeh, cover and steam 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in large bowl, mix tamari, wasabi powder if using, and sesame oil. Add hot tempeh and mix well to coat. Set aside to marinate while preparing rice. In medium saucepan, bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and salt and return to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until water is absorbed, about 35 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove rice from heat and let stand, covered, 10 minutes. Transfer rice to large bowl and fluff with fork. Drain tempeh; spread on baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned on all sides, about 25 minutes. Bring small saucepan of water to a boil. Add corn, cover and cook 2 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold running water and drain well. Set aside. In small bowl, whisk together vinegar and mirin. Gradually pour mixture over rice while still slightly warm and mix gently to combine. When rice reaches room temperature, add corn, mushrooms, radishes and tempeh and toss to blend. Break thick stems off watercress; discard. Break remaining watercress in half, wash, then dry thoroughly in salad spinner or with paper towels. In large bowl, toss watercress with Peanut-Miso Dressing. Place rice salad and watercress on individual serving plates; garnish with carrots and daikon. Alternatively, if salad is part of a buffet, place rice salad and watercress side by side on large serving platter; arrange carrots and daikon on separate plate.