Satay Crispy Rice Salad

5 from 1 vote

This twist on the viral crispy rice salad takes the flavor of juicy satay chicken and turns it into a lovely, satisfying salad. Crisp up your rice, then combine with lots of lovely crunchy greens, and pour over a GORGEOUSLY creamy peanut butter dressing that you'll be wanting to drink.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: crispy rice salad, satay salad

Servings: servings

Calories: 542kcal

Author: Kate Phillips

Ingredients

For the salad -

2 cups cooked long-grain rice or ⅔ cup uncooked rice
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon chili oil (like chili crisp)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 cooked chicken breasts chopped or shredded
1 cup podded edamame beans
3 scallions finely sliced
1 cucumber diced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
A handful of Thai basil chopped
A handful of mint leaves chopped
A handful of cilantro chopped
⅓ cup roasted peanuts crushed
1 red chili finely sliced (optional)

For the peanut satay dressing -

½ cup natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon sweet chili jam or use honey or sweet chili sauce
½ cup water

Instructions

Cook your rice (skip this step if you're using leftover rice).
Add ⅔ cup of rice to a small pot you have a lid for. Add 1 cup of water, then set over high heat until you see foamy bubbles on top. Pop the lid on, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat (still with the lid on), and set aside for another 10 minutes, to finish steaming. After this, fluff up the grains with a fork, then spread onto a tray or plate lined with parchment paper and pop it into the fridge to cool for at least 10 minutes.
Prepare your crispy rice.
Heat your oven to 400°F (200°C). If you're using leftover rice, transfer it to a parchment paper lined sheet pan. If you're using your fresh rice, get the tray out of the fridge. Pour 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of chili oil over the rice, then toss to combine.
Make your crispy rice (oven instructions).
Spread the seasoned rice into a thin, even layer (ideally one layer), then pop it into the oven for 25 - 30 minutes to crisp up. Check the rice after 15 minutes to see how it's going - some ovens are a little uneven, and you may want to rotate the tray. Check it at 20 minutes too, as it can easily burn, and again, all ovens are different.

You can also make your crispy rice in the air fryer. Transfer the seasoned cooked rice to your air fryer basket (I remove the insert, but you don't have to). Air fry at 400°F (200°C) for 10 minutes, then give the rice a little shake and air fry for a further five minutes until super golden and crispy.

Mix your satay dressing.
Add ½ cup of peanut butter, 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, and 1 tablespoon of sweet chili jam to a bowl or a jar. Use a fork to mix into a thick paste. It'll seem like it won't come together, but just keep mixing. Slowly drizzle in ½ cup of water, mixing as you do, until you get a lovely creamy dressing with the consistency of heavy cream.

PRO TIP: Your satay dressing will firm up as it sits, so if it's a little thick by the time you're ready to toss it with your salad, drizzle in a little extra water to loosen it back up. Likewise, if you pour in too much water, mix in a little more peanut butter to thicken it again.

Mix your salad.
Once your rice looks lovely and golden and crispy around the edges, remove it from the oven. Add the edamame beans, diced cucumber, chicken, cilantro, mint, Thai basil, red chili (if you're using it), most of the peanuts, sesame seeds and scallions to a mixing bowl, or straight into a serving bowl. Pour the crispy rice on top, then pour roughly half the dressing on top. Mix well to combine. Drizzle over more dressing and scatter over the remaining peanuts to serve.

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES: Use natural peanut butter, which only lists peanuts and a little salt in the ingredients list, rather than anything with sugar and oils. You'll get the best flavor this way. Smooth or chunky is fine, you choose! If you want to cook chicken specifically for this recipe, I like to use this miso grilled chicken or satay chicken skewers recipe. You'll end up with more dressing than you need - but it keeps well and is lovely drizzled over anything and everything (grilled chicken, steamed rice, or even as a toast topper!)

SUBSTITUTIONS: Skip the Thai basil if you can't find it, or aren't a fan of aniseed. You can use more cilantro and mint. Play around with the salad ingredients too - swap edamame for peas or broad beans, add crunchy bean sprouts, shredded cabbage or carrots, or finely diced red onion or shallot. If you don't want to use the fish sauce in the dressing, just use more soy sauce. Use honey instead of sweet chili jam in the dressing if you like.

PREP AHEAD: Once you mix the salad with the dressing and store it, you'll lose the crispiness of the rice. It'll become a little chewy (which is still delicious!) but if you're entertaining or taking it to a potluck, I recommend mixing the rice and dressing through the salad just before serving. But it keeps very well (roughly 4 days in the fridge) and doesn't get soggy (!) so it's a brilliant one to meal prep.

Nutrition