Easy vegan rice salad

Credit and permission to share: Mars Food UK

As a young chef, most menus of the late 90s for vegetarians (particularly in the North East of England) were vegetable lasagne or vegetable chilli. 

Once, I was asked to prepare a meal for a vegan in the pub I was working at.  I would say I spent more time on that meal than any other meal as I wanted it to be perfect.  The customer simply wanted as much fresh vegetables as possible on her plate.  I spent ages scouring our larders to make it special.  It was plain and simple as per the customer request and to this day is the only compliment I remember from that pub because it was so special to that customer. 

Well, in homage to that, I would like to thank the people at Uncle Ben’s for reminding me of that experience and it is with the upmost please to share what I think might be our simplest recipe. 

You will need:

A rice salad recipe with colourful veggies, a tangy vinaigrette, and delicious rice.

TIME 5 minutes

4 servings

Quick, easy and packed with flavour, this vegan salad comes together in a flash. Loads of colourful veggies and a tangy vinaigrette make this a perfect option for a balanced lunch or side dish!

INGREDIENTS

 2 pouches (each 8.8 oz) Ben’s Original™ Ready Rice™ Whole Grain Brown Rice

 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

 2 tablespoons sesame oil

 2 tablespoons low sodium vegan soy sauce

 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 1/2 cup chopped carrot

 1/2 cup sliced celery

 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

 1/2 cup chopped snow peas

 1/4 cup sliced green onions

 1/4 cup torn cilantro leaves

1 Prepare rice according to package instructions; let cool.

2 Whisk together lime juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar and pepper in small bowl.

3 Combine cooled rice with carrot, celery, red pepper, snow peas and green onions in medium bowl. Toss with sesame oil mixture until well coated.

4 Divide mixture evenly among 4 bowls. Garnish with cilantro.

*Tip: For an added kick, stir sriracha hot sauce into vinaigrette as desired.