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.
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.
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.
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.
This looks so perfect…great recipie !!
That salad looks really beautiful and so promising! A delicious and tasty dish, yummy!
The rice with peanuts sounds excellent! I love the flavors of the dressing!
soooo pretty and bright!! sound appetizingly yumm!!
The bowls are pretty choice! The rice and dressing are simply gorgeous!
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!
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!!
wow!! Looks very yummy and colorful. I always love this kind of Asian food.
Thats so colorful! The peanuts will add extra crunchiness to the salad,i love peanuts and bell pepper combo!
I just love the attention you pay to your colour combos in your food.
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!
this is absolutely gorgeous Suma, the dish and the pics. I have to try! Bookmarked!
Wow i am bookmarking this one, looks beautiful and so so delicous.
This sound so good! We are a peanut loving family and this sounds like such a great idea!
This looks gorgeous, Soma. Those flavours (especially the peanuts) sounds very tempting.
Happy Diwali to you and family.
Fantastic as usual! Great flavors I would love to have that one for lunch.
That does look amazing. Love the brown rice and peanuts together– they complement each other perfectly.
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!
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.
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.
your salads are such a variation and a treat for the eyes. A colorful salad is so tempting. Will try this one.
That brown rice salad looks nice and fresh and good!
Gosh!That looks just out of this world:)Happy Diwali!
that’s v interesting, i’ve a pack of brown rice, must see if it’s still edible.
It’s so colourful! lovely flavours too!
This looks amazing!! I never thought to put peanuts with brown rice. Genius!
Hey Soma.. Thanks for sharing this. I just made a pulav-ish dish on the lines of this recipe of yours. Tasted great! Too dark to take pictures now.. but I’ll make it again for the blog! 🙂 Thanks again!