If you've never come across Thai Riceberry, you are in for a treat. Riceberry is a relatively new hybrid rice variety created in Thailand by creating two local varieties to create a beautiful deep purple wholegrain rice. Riceberry has it all - it's different, it's attractive, it cooks as easily as jasmine and it has all the health benefits of wholegrain brown rice (Vitamin B1, Vitamin) as well as much higher levels of antioxidants and polyphenols than brown rice varieties. If you like your rice and you're looking for the very best nutritional bang for you buck plus easy preparation, you absolutely need to check Thai Riceberry out. Even better, you can buy Thai Riceberry from lots of online stores and considering its health benefits, it isn't at all expensive.
So, once you have your Thai Riceberry, how should you enjoy eating it? Because of its health properties, I like to put it in a big, healthy salad along with beans and lots of vegetables - Riceberry is quite substantial and combined with some beans plus tomatoes, peppers, aubergine avocado and courgette, you get a salad which is a true meal in itself and uber-healthy. The dressing I use in my Riceberry salad is very simple - French mustard, olive oil, lemon juice and a dash of honey. I add a boiled egg per serving for extra protein but you could dispense with the eggs if you prefer and still enjoy a substantial, healthy meal.
To start with, I get the rice cooking. Thai Riceberry is wholegrain so there are no starchy remnants to wash off - just 2 or 3 rinses with water and you're good to go. I use a rice cooker but if you cook your Riceberry in a saucepan, most packets advise cooking in 1 : 1.5 times water for 25 minutes on a very low simmer, then resting for 10 minutes. In the meantime, there is plenty of vegetable chopping to keep you busy. I keep some of the vegetables raw - the pepper, tomatoes and avocado - and I fry the courgette and eggplant/aubergine. Once the courgette and eggplant/aubergine are cooked, I make the dressing and peel and halve my boiled eggs (if you want to present this dish as vegan, then just forget the boiled eggs - this salad is plenty nutricious even without them!) Then, it's just a matter of combining everything in a bowl.
This salad is substantial and nutricious enough to enjoy on its own as a healthy dinner or lunch option - I guarantee, you'll leave the table feeling satisfied and healthy!
If you think you'd like to try Thai Riceberry, then you can find my Youtube tutorial by clicking Thai Riceberry salad or scrolling to the bottom of the page. You'll find the recipe just below.
Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX.
PS: If you have some good wholegrain brown rice in your cupboard, this recipe will work well with that too!
ingredients:
(makes 2 substantial servings as a main course)
1 cup (130g/ 4.5oz) Thai Riceberry (or any red or brown rice)
2 eggs
1/2 red onion
10 baby tomatoes
1/2 yellow or any coloured bell pepper
1/2 avocado
1/2 eggplant/aubergine
1 small courgette
1 X 400g / 14 oz tin of mixed beans, drained
30g / 1 oz rocket or green leaves
2 - 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
for the dressing:
1 tbsp French mustard
1 tsp honey
3 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
how to:
rinse the rice 2 or 3 times with cold water. put the rice in your rice cooker or a saucepan. add water according to your rice cooker markings or the packet instructions and cook
meanwhile, bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. add 2 eggs and cook for 10 mins. cool in cold water, then peel and halve
slice the onion thinly. soak it in water for 10 mins to remove the bitterness
rinse and halve the baby tomatoes
halve and slice the pepper
halve the avocado and cut into slices
halve and cut the eggplant into small pieces. soak them in a bowl of water for 10 mins to remove the bitterness
halve the courgette longways, then cut into slices
heat 2 - 3 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. add the eggplant and courgette to the pan. season with salt & pepper and fry until lightly browned
to make the dressing, combine the mustard, honey, lemon juice and olive oil. give the ingredients a good stir and set aside
when the Riceberry is ready, spoon it into a large bowl. add the fried aubergine & courgette, drained red onion, the pepper, tomatoes, the drained mixed beans and the avocado. mix everything together well
last, pour over dressing and add the rocket. mix once more
serve with the boiled egg as a topping
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