This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
The most delicious Crispy Rice Salad! Start with shredded veggies, and toss them with a sweet heat Thai chili dressing. Load this salad up with mangoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, and fresh cilantro! The crunchy rice, and sweet and spicy dressing pair beautifully together!
When my Thai Mango Salad meets crispy rice, explosive flavors happen.
We’re talking about out-of-the-park, world series kind of stuff. And this Crispy Rice Salad with Thai Chilies and Mango is definitely on the trajectory to become my favorite salad of all time. We’re talking about a sweet spicy dressing, crispy rice, flaked salmon for protein, and shredded veggies that are crisp and cool. Perfect for a summer meal.
And when you pair it with that dressing we’re about to experience sweet, spicy, salty loaded with umami, and jam-packed into each bite. Crispy rice salad is inspired by Nam Khao – a Laotian appetizer-style salad. I like to combine it with my Thai Mango salad as they typically contain a lot of similar ingredients like lime, fish sauce, and more. The rice just gives the mango salad the best texture.
You can add a ton of additional veggies to this – like scallions, red cabbage, and more if you prefer, but for me, the recipe is just right as is. Serve it with grilled shrimp skewers, roasted or grilled chicken, or simple pan-fried salmon for extra protein.
Ingredients for Crispy Rice Salad
- Prepared Jasmine Rice: This recipe works best with day-old basmati or white rice, so make the rice ahead of time if you can and let it cool in the fridge or it’s the best way to use up leftovers. You can also grab packets of Trader Joe Jasmine rice and zap them in the microwave – this cuts down on prep. I haven’t tested the recipe with brown rice, so I’m unsure how that would work.
- Soy Sauce: I use and recommend low-sodium soy sauce. When combined with the fish sauce, you run the risk of the recipe becoming too salty.
- Sesame Oil: toasted sesame oil works best, it gives the rice a smoky delicious flavor.
- Chili crunch: or chili crisp, both serve the same purpose in this recipe and are interchangeable.
- Large unripe mango: Start with unripe mangoes. Unripe mangoes are undoubtedly easier to peel using my favorite Y-peeler to make thin strips. This particular peeler juliennes the vegetables which is perfect for this dish! If you swap the mangos for papaya and add some chopped peanuts, you end up with a green papaya salad!
- Red Onion: I usually thinly slice my red onions on a mandoline for this recipe. You can also thinly slice them by hand if you’d like.
- Carrot: You’ll also want to use the same vegetable peeler for the carrots. A bag of matchsticks would also work here, but I find that I like this recipe best when all the ingredients are the same size. So typically I prefer sticking to a julienne that’s the same size as the mangoes!
- Red Bell Pepper: slice them thin on a mandoline just so all the veggies are the same size. This isn’t something I typically use for my Thai Mango Salad recipe, but it is something that can be added to Thai Mango Salad.
- Persian Cucumbers: Or you can also use English cucumbers. This recipe calls for 4 Persian cucumbers or 1 English cucumber, and though that might seem like a lot, keep in mind that when we peel them with a Y-peeler, you won’t be able to use the center. Keep them for a different recipe or toss them in the juicer!
- Fresh Cilantro: fresh herbs add earthiness to the salad and help brighten up all the other flavors. You could also add a few sprigs of Thai Basil or fresh mint if you’d like, I typically don’t.
- Thai chilies: Add a hint of much-needed heat to this salad. If you don’t have Thai red chilies on hand, you can also use red pepper flakes instead.
- Garlic: You’ll need just one clove of garlic for the dressing. I grate the garlic on a grater and add it right into the dressing.
- Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness to the salad dressing. Unripe mangoes aren’t sweet like ripe mangoes so that hint of sugar helps balance the spicy, tart, and salty elements in this salad.
- Lime Juice: Adds a tart taste to the dressing. It works perfectly with the sweet, salty, and spicy elements in the dish.
- Fish Sauce: Fish sauce adds a rich umami flavor to the dressing. It’s also our sodium source for the salad so you don’t need any kosher salt for this. Feel free to swap for a vegan-friendly fish sauce or even low-sodium tamari, or soy sauce.
Making Crispy Rice Salad Recipe
- Slice those veggies right! The thing that makes this mango salad incredible besides the flavors is the attention to care for the veggies. Start by slicing the veggies nice and thin with either a Y-peeler or a mandoline that has a shredding blade. Shredding them helps ensure you get a bit of all the veggies in each bite. Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl and set them aside for now.
- Make crispy rice. Preheat the oven or an air fryer for the rice. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper if you’re making this in the oven. For the air fryer method, you can use the sheet pan it comes with or line the basket with a paper liner. Toss the salad in a bowl with the soy sauce, sesame oil, chili crisp, and white pepper. Squish the rice to make balls or if you prefer it more flakey, spread it out flat on the baking sheet in an even layer. Bake in the oven or air fryer toss with a spatula around the halfway mark. Let the crispy rice cool before tossing with the salad.
- Get lost in the sauce. In a small bowl, toss the fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, garlic, and chopped Thai chilies. Mix it until the sugar dissolves. Give your mangoes a taste. If they’re more tart than sweet, then you might need a smidge more sugar in your dressing. If the mangoes are sweet, then don’t add more than 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Toss and serve. This recipe is high volume so it makes 4 giant bowls of salad. If you don’t plan on serving all of the salad, consider only dressing whatever portion of the salad you need. Taste and adjust the salad with however much of the dressing you need. Then top with flaked salmon and serve with crispy rice on top.
Other Delicious Salads to try:
- Bang Bang Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Chopped Thai Chicken Salad with Skinny Peanut Dressing
- Avocado Shrimp Salad with Citrus Miso Dressing
- Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad with Ginger Dressing
- Super Fresh Grilled Shrimp Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
Other Thai Recipes you’ll love:
- Thai Basil Fried Rice
- Thai Shrimp in A Blanket (Crispy Firecracker Shrimp)
- Garlic Lovers Thai Basil Chicken
- Garlicky Pad See Ew
- Thai Cashew Chicken
Crispy Rice Salad with Thai Chili Dressing
The most delicious Crispy Rice Salad! Start with shredded veggies, and toss them with a sweet heat Thai chili dressing. Load this salad up with mangoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, and fresh cilantro! The crunchy rice, and sweet and spicy dressing pair beautifully together!
Ingredients
Crispy Rice:
- 1 ½ cups cooked jasmine rice
- 1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon chili crisp or chili crunch
- ¼ teaspoon umami seasoning see notes
Salad and Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 clove garlic grated
- 1-3 red Thai chilies minced (see notes)
- 2 unripe mangoes julienned
- 1 small red onion thinly sliced
- 1 carrot thinly sliced or shredded
- ½ red bell pepper thinly sliced
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 4 Persian cucumbers thinly sliced
- Cooked shredded salmon chicken, or grilled shrimp, for serving
Instructions
- SLICE: I usually use a mandolin for the onions and a ‘y’ peeler for the mango. This makes the shreds all the same size so that you can get a little bit of all the ingredients in each bite. Add them to a large salad bowl along with the red onions carrots, red bell pepper, cilantro, and Persian cucumbers, and set them aside for now.
- CRISPY RICE: Preheat the air fryer to 400ºF (see notes for oven directions.) In a bowl, toss the cooked rice, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, chili crisp, and white pepper. Toss wearing a glove and combine the ingredients. Squish the rice between your fingers to create small lumps if you’d like. Pop the rice onto a lined air fryer basket, and air fry for 11-14 minutes or until golden and crispy. Be sure to toss around the halfway mark. Let the crispy rice cool slightly, it will crisp up once cooled even if it looks a little soft now.
- DRESSING: Taste the mangoes, if they are sweet, you only need 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, if they are tart, use 3. In a small bowl, combine fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, garlic, and chopped Thai chilies. Mix until the sugar dissolves.
- TOSS: If you anticipate leftovers, toss just enough of the salad with the dressing that you plan on serving. Keep the rest of the dressing and salad separately. Drizzle half of the prepared dressing over the salad and toss. Taste and adjust with more dressing as desired. Sprinkle the crispy rice over the top of the salad and serve with grilled or pan-fried salmon, chicken, or shrimp.
Notes
- Umami seasoning: this adds a rich umami flavor to the dish, but you can easily swap it with mushroom powder or even a shake of white pepper if that’s all you have.
- Oven Crispy Rice: To make crispy rice in the oven preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the rice as directed, then spread it out in a single layer. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes giving the rice a good toss every 10-12 minutes to ensure even browning.
- Thai chilies: though in my mango salad recipe, I like to use 2 chilies, I find that it ends up being a bit too spicy for this recipe. This is because we’re using chili crisp too. Use less as you can always add more next time. Also, a smidge of chili crisp can replace the Thai chilies if you want to make that swap.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 6g | Fiber: 5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
