Bhutanese Red Rice Salad and a Spicy Asian Red Chile and Pecan Slaw
When I was planning Saturday evening’s meal of Hoisin Barbecued Pork, I wanted a grain dish and an appropriate salad-type side. I located a perfect slaw recipe using Mae Ploy’s Thai Sweet Chile Sauce in the dressing at www.epicurious.com. This and a Bhutanese Red Rice Salad would be sensational together.
About a year ago, my umpteenth Windows PC died suddenly. They seldom go slowly or beg for life support so you can pass their information on to the next generation. And thus it was! Bye-bye to 20 years of recipes and who knows what bits of digital information I had collected.
And so it came to pass that at this time I crossed over the river into the promised land of Apple®. (Where’s the music when you could use it?) And lo, all the files that I thought were lost were safely stashed away on a healthy external hard drive. With luck and a prayer, I developed a rather serpentine method of opening and saving my older files in a format readable by my new digital savior, an iMac.
But alas, where is my precious recipe for Bhutanese Red Rice Salad that was handed down from on high by Wayne Mashburn in the mountains of Colorado to Steve and Tina Martin who then brought it to the land of Oregon and shared it freely with the multitudes here? Bless them, for it is, as recipes go, a hit!
I sent out an SOS to Steve Martin on Facebook to help me. He came to the rescue and delivered a resurrected replacement and was thanked in the process by Melissa Mashburn, one of the begotten daughters of Wayne and Mary Mashburn, for teaching her father to make it. It seems the whole Mashburn clan is in seventh heaven with this recipe, and with good reason. Steve thanked Melissa and directed her to give thanks to her father who is in Colorado, for it is he who is deserving of praise for bringing us this heavenly dish.
And lo it came to pass that with this resurrection in my hands and credit bestowed to the appropriate provider of this blessed recipe, my Saturday evening meal could be complete. Let us give warm thanks for:
Bhutanese Red Rice Salad
With appreciation to Wayne Mashburn of Colorado Springs
Whenever the Martins are guests in our home and ask if there is anything they can bring, I frequently request this salad. Try it; it will make you popular.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (240 ml.) Bhutanese Red Rice (Lotus Foods distributes this and I find it at LifeSource Natural Foods in Salem)
- 1½ cups (360 ml.) water
- Pinch of salt
- You may cook in a rice cooker or bring to a boil in a heavy saucepan, cover, lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, let stand covered for 4 minutes, then fluff with a fork and let cool.
- ½ cup (120 ml.) finely chopped scallions
- ¾ cup (180 ml.) finely chopped red bell pepper
- ¾ cups (180 ml.) dried cranberries (or mango or other dried fruit; Craizens also substitute well), roughly chopped
- ¾ cup (180 ml.) toasted pecans, roughly chopped
- When rice is cool toss together with above ingredients, then add dressing to taste.
Dressing:
- ¼ cup (60 ml.) olive oil
- ½ cup (120 ml.) white wine
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml.) sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml.) lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml.) fresh ginger, grated
- Whisk together, let stand for 20-30 minutes
- Chill (to let rice soak up dressing) and serve
This recipe is another heavenly gift!
- 32 ounces (.94 lt.) nonfat vegetable stock, divided (see first two directions below)
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml.) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml.) cumin seeds
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ shallot, chopped
- ½ cup (120 ml.) chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup (60 ml.) sweet Thai chile sauce, such as Mae Ploy
- ¼ cup (60 ml.) apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml.) ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml.) freshly ground black pepper
Slaw ingredients:
- ¼ cup (60 ml.) pecan pieces
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml.) dark chili powder
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml.) olive oil
- ¼ pound (113 gr.) red cabbage, shredded
- ¼ pound (113 gr.) green cabbage, shredded
- 1 small green bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 small red bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 small yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced
Directions:
- Whisk ½ cup (120 ml.) vegetable stock with cornstarch in a measuring cup until blended.
- Bring remaining 28 ounces of stock to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and slowly whisk in stock-cornstarch mixture.
- Stir rapidly until stock is the consistency of olive oil (it should cling to the back of a spoon).
- Cool to room temperature, skim off any film.
- Place cumin seeds in a sauté pan over medium-high heat and toast while stirring until aroma of seeds is released (do not burn).
- Place ¼ cup of thickened stock in a blender with cumin seeds and remaining dressing ingredients, and blend until smooth. (Refrigerate or freeze leftover stock.)
- Heat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Combine pecans, chili powder and oil, tossing to coat the nuts.
- Place nuts on a foil-covered baking sheet and roast in preheated oven for 6-7 minutes.
- Combine dressing and slaw ingredients in a bowl.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Category: Side Dish
About the Author (Author Profile)
Music, food and photography are at the center of Charles’ life. He performed with the Dallas Symphony, Dallas Opera and was assistant principal bassoonist with the Fort Worth Symphony for more than 20 years. When Charles and Victor moved to Baltimore, Charles created Lone Star Personal Chef and Catering Service and taught cooking classes at Williams-Sonoma. Now in Salem, Charles is a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Mountain West Real Estate, taught cooking classes for children at the A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village, and owns and operates Charles Price Photography. Charles and Vic enjoy entertaining and frequently host dinners as fundraisers for local non-profits and charities
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Well, Charles: I know what I’ll be asking Tom to make me this weekend…can’t wait! The slaw recipe, alone, has me drooling. And, of course, I love that rice salad passionately and with great devotion.
Sounds scrumptious! Will have to head to Lifesource for ingredients right away! Thanks for thinking of us vegetarians. ☺