Crispy Rice Salad With Fresh Herbs

5 from 2 votes

A bowl of crispy rice salad with cucumber, edamame, fresh herbs, and chopped peanuts.

Laos crispy rice salad (nam khao) is a great way to use leftover rice. This popular salad has fresh, tangy, salty, umami flavors and satisfyingly crunchy textures. This recipe is gluten free with a vegan option.

Author: Lindsey Jenkins

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings

Ingredients

Crispy Baked Rice

2 cups cooked Jasmine white rice see notes below about brown rice
2 tablespoons avocado or olive oil
1 tablespoon red curry paste

Tangy Umami Dressing

¼ cup reduce sodium soy sauce or tamari for GF
2 tablespoons avocado oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar or coconut sugar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 clove garlic minced or grated
diamond crystal kosher salt to taste, optional, depending on the saltiness of your soy sauce

Salad

4 Persian cucumbers or 1 large English cucumber sliced into thin half moons (about 2 cups)
1 cup shelled edamame
1 large handful cilantro roughly chopped
1 large handful fresh mint roughly chopped
2 green onions, sliced dark and light green parts only
⅓ cup chopped peanuts plus more to taste

Instructions

Preheat to 400ºF/200ºC and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix the cooked rice, a bit of oil, and the red curry paste together until well combined.
Transfer the rice mixture to the prepared baking sheet and spread it into an even layer then bake for 30-35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes so it doesn't burn. Cook until golden brown.
Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl until combined. Season to taste with salt if needed.
In a large serving bowl, add the sliced cucumbers, edamame, chopped herbs, green onions, and chopped peanuts. If serving right away, add the crispy rice and toss with the dressing, to taste. If not serving right away, store the salad, crispy rice, and dressing separately so the rice doesn't get soggy.

Notes

See the blog post for extensive recipe FAQs, storage, and helpful tips.

If using cooked brown rice, you'll need to add 2-3 teaspoons of potato starch or corn starch into the rice mixture to help it crisp up.

This recipe serves about 3 if eaten as a main dish with a cooked protein or 4 as a side dish.

Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations

Don’t like cilantro? - leave it out.

Add-ins - cooked protein such as shrimp, chicken, salmon, or tofu to make it more filling, romaine lettuce or chopped kale, bell pepper, shredded carrots, bok choy, avocado, red onion or shallot, etc.

Make it plant based - use Thai kitchen curry paste (or something that doesn't have fish sauce). The fish sauce gives the dressing a tangy, salty unique flavor so you can either use a vegan fish sauce substitute or leave it out. If you leave it out, you'll need to season the dressing with more salt to taste and potentially more lime juice or vinegar.