Forbidden rice meant for the emperors
I was looking for another recipe to use my black rice and came across several black rice salads and got me thinking to try and put an Asian spin on it with some glazed salmon. It was delicious and we ate the leftovers of the salad for a couple of days.
Black rice or forbidden rice was once reserved for the emperors and used in Chinese medicine to ensure their health and long life. Everyone else was forbidden to eat it.
Black rice is high in nutrients and rich in anthocyanin which is a powerful antioxidant. I don’t eat it for that reason; I eat it because it’s beautiful and delicious.
Take a look at my Forbidden Rice Bowl that I recreated after enjoying it several times at Flower Child Restaurant. I think I came close if not exactly to what I enjoyed at the restaurant. Over 13,000 people have viewed this recipe and I hope a few of them who know the dish tried the recipe.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: My Forbidden Rice with Mushroom and Tomatoes is another great recipe using black rice.
Dressing for the salad. The lime zest and juice did not get added to the recipe so make sure you add that in.
This is a channel knife and you use it to take strips off the side of carrots and then you cut the carrot into thin slices making little flowers.
Chop the red bell pepper very small for the salad.
To the cooked and cooled black rice add the chopped red bell pepper, cucumber, edamame and carrot. Feel free to add in some onion if you want; green or red either would be great. About an hour before serving add some of the dressing and stir until thoroughly coated.
Put some of the rice salad on a plate or pasta bowl and top with your cooked salmon (no pictures of that, sorry) and then drizzle with some of the cooked marinade you had left over. Sprinkle with black and white sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onions. An additional squeeze of lime juice over the plate is great.
Black Rice Salad with Soy Glazed Salmon
Ingredients
- Black Rice Salad:
- 1 c. black rice
- 1/2 c. chopped red pepper
- 1 c. shelled edamame
- 5-6 baby carrots* flowers
- 1/2 English cucumber cut in small dice
- salt and pepper to taste
- Dressing:
- 2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
- 2 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar
- 1-2 tsp. Sesame oil
- 1 tsp. fresh ginger
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1-2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2 tsp. minced garlic
- zest and juice of one lime
- Salmon:
- 4- 4 oz. salmon filets
- Salmon marinade:
- 1/3 c. soy sauce
- 1/3 c. hot honey or regular honey
- 2 tsp. sesame oil
- 2-3 cloves of minced garlic
- 1 tsp. fresh ginger I use frozen
- black and white sesame seeds garnish
- thinly sliced green onions garnish
Instructions
- Black rice salad: Mix dressing ingredients and refrigerate until ready to add to the salad. Cook the black rice according to package direction. When it is done, let it cool to almost room temperature and then add in the remaining salad ingredients and use enough of the salad dressing to moisten the salad. Refrigerate salad until ready to serve. (I used closer to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to get a better emulsion.)
- Marinade for salmon: Mix all the ingredients except for the sesame seeds and green onions in salt bowl. Brush some on both sides of salmon filets and marinate for 30 minutes up to 4 hours. Preheat oven to 375°. Line baking pan with an edge with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Add your salmon then bake for 15-20 minutes until done. Thickest part of salmon should reach 145°. If you would like crisp edges, turn your broiler on for a minute or so.
- Put the remainder of salmon marinade in small saucepan and simmer for 3-4 minutes. You will use this to drizzle on top of your finished salmon.
- To plate put 3/4-1 cup of the salad on a large plate or use a pasta bowl. Top with the cooked salmon then drizzle some of the marinade that you heated. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.
Recipe Notes
You can make the carrot flowers with either large carrots or baby carrots by taking a channel knife which is the tool that sometimes has a zester and the channel part and run it down the side of the carrot making 4-5 grooves then slice the carrot paper thin. I love making these and also use this method to put in egg drop soup.
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