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!
Calories: 324kcal
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
