As an exciting third recipe in the series, let me introduce you to Crispy Rice salad. 

In previous iterations of this blog, I have attempted recreations of the iconic LA eatery Night+Market’s crispy rice. Which, if you are ever in LA, is a must-eat restaurant. Fantastic food, great prices, and not pretentious. But that recipe calls for frying cooked rice in oil like you would fries… and while delicious, is painful once you realize your arteries may clog. So I have been on the hunt for a healthier version. HELLO baked crispy rice. 

This is incredible and so simple to make but will WOW even your pickiest eaters. You simply cook jasmine rice as you normally would in a pot or rice cooker, then toss with curry paste, spread onto a baking sheet, and bake until crispy. Some oil is involved but way less!

You can have this as a main with protein on top (shout out to my crispy tofu!), as a starter, or as a side to a family-style dinner with a vegetable, meat, noodle, etc. 

You can serve it cold so trust me, try for a group! It’s shockingly easy and wildly popular. 

INGREDIENTS

2 cups jasmine rice

2 tbsp. red curry paste

1 red onion

2 cloves garlic

2 cups mixed herbs (mint, green onion, cilantro)

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. fresh ginger

1 tbsp. fish sauce

2 tbsp. oil

2 limes

Optional ingredients: 1-2 thai bird’s eye red chili (add to sauce mix for extra spice), salted peanuts (for topping)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 400F and cook jasmine rice, setting aside to cool a little bit for handling.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked rice, curry paste and oil. Spread over a lined baking sheet. 
• Bake for 40 mins until crispy, mixing halfway through. 
• Whisk together minced garlic, brown sugar, ginger, fish sauce, and juice of limes. Set aside.
• Mix together crisped rice with red onion (thinly sliced) and chopped herbs. Then pour over sauce and mix again.
• Enjoy!