Another event has hit the blogosphere waves and the culinary host behind this fun food party is our blog friend, Wandering Chopsticks. On her scrumptious site, she explores cuisines from all around the world, but her emphasis on Vietnamese cuisine is tastefully shared on an almost daily basis. I was in Downtown LA for an intensive business meeting and all the furious day’s hectic, corporate challenges were soon forgotten when I met up with WC. She was like a breath of fresh air, a free spirit and quickly escorted me throughout her uncles’ gardens full herbs, vegetable and fruit trees to make any garden enthusiast envious.
If you don’t already know, Todd and I are gardening fanatics and seeing the splendor of her families garden made me aching to have more soil space. After the lush garden tour, she whisked me away to the her favorite eateries in San Gabriel and Monterey Park, all of which were OUTSTANDING. She knows where the good food is hiding and generous enough to share all that with me. I found my new eating partner in crime and we indulged in a 3 hour food fest that left me in a deliriously happy food coma. Unfortunately Todd was unable to join us and had to live through my eating pleasures via the left overs that I brought home. But he’s a simple, humble guy and as long as I brought something home, he was happy for me. He thoroughly enjoyed every bite of the left overs. Wandering Chopsticks covers all our eating adventures HERE. Thanks WC!!
Now this busy food enthusiast has now created a monthly event that is cleverly called, Weekend Wokking where everyone makes a dish on the one ingredient that she has chosen to be the theme for that month. We’re excited about this months theme of Asparagus because we’re in the middle of the menu planning for our big party on of about 60 people this Saturday and asparagus was on our minds. We’re planning on making our minted red rice salad again for the party and decided to add asparagus to this salad, inspired by Weekend Wokking.
Previously, I’ve written about the joy’s and memories that red rice brings me and this refreshing summer salad will go perfectly with the sauteed asparagus. With so many dishes planned ahead, this red rice salad is easy, delicious, unique and visually appealing to the masses of hungry guests. Always having garden mint on hand, the herb addition brightens up the nutty textures and flavors of the red rice . Along with a large bag of red rice stocked in our pantry, this salad is pretty much ready to go for Saturday. All we need to do is purchase some asparagus to replace the cucumbers in the original recipe and we’ve achieved another dish down for the count!
This Minted Red Rice Salad with Asparagus is our submission to Weekend Wokking, where we all celebrate and share the dishes that can be made with one ingredient. You don’t need a wok to participate, just the desire to cook a dish from the secret ingredient theme! Wandering Chopsticks is hosting this fine event this month and you can see who will be hosting the future ones. If you’re interested, in hosting future events, just contact Wandering Chopsticks to join in on the fun! We can’t wait to find out what the next secret ingredient is.
Print This Recipe
Minted RED RICE and shallot-soy dressing recipe
Just replace the cucumbers with asparagus prepared in your favorite way. We quickly sauteed the sliced asparagus with a little sesame oil for this dish.
Ingredients:
1 cup raw red rice
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup diced cucumbers
1/4 cup chopped parsley or cilantro
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves , or even more to your specific taste
Soy Dressing:
4 tablespoons minced shallots
3 medium garlic cloves , crushed, then minced finely
2 tablespoons olive or grape seed oil
2 teaspoons sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
3/4 teapsoons sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1. In colander, rinse rice grains under water to clean grains of any residue. In heavy sauce pan, add water and rice. Bring to boil, then stir rice once and reduce heat to low. Cover pan but leave a slight opening for air to escape. Cook for about 45 minutes, fluffing rice about 3 times during this period. If rice is not cooked fully once water evaporates, add a little more water and cook till rice becomes soft. Once water is cooked away, turn off heat, fluff rice one last time and place lid tightly over pan for another 30 minutes. This will steam the rice even further for the final cooking time.
2. In sauce pan over medium-low heat add oil and cook shallots and garlic until a light golden brown. Turn off heat and add sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, vinegar, lemon juice and cracked black pepper. Stir till sugar dissolves and all ingredients are mixed together. Put aside to marinade further while you prepare vegetables and herbs.
3. Dice cucumbers and mince parsly (or cilantro) and mint.
4. For a cold red rice salad, let rice cook completely and refrigerate dressing. Toss cucumbers and herbs with rice and chill. Before eating, toss again with dressing to enhance flavor of rice.
5. For a warm red rice dish, toss cucumbers and herbs with warm rice. Heat up dressing in sauce pan till warm and toss with rice. Serve immediately.
6. Makes about 4 cups of cooked rice. Serves 5-8
Thanks for all your fabulous recipe recommendations for our party menu! We need more help…
Live Web CAM!!!! Wanna party with us?
We really want to invite all of you to our party on Saturday too and would love to have you all join in on the festivites with us. Our thought is to have a live web cam of the party on Saturday beginning at 2 pm Western Time. But as of now, we know nothing about having a live web cam. Do any of you computer tekkies out there have any advice for us? on equipment? Set up? Software? If so, please share with us your expertise and if we can gather all this in time for Saturday…you can all join us for the party!!!
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{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
This looks delish and I really don’t think you guys need help with recipe ideas! I wish I could help with the techno aspect but I can barely figure out email. I hope you figure it out, I’d love to “attend”!
Wow, I don’t think I’ve seen red rice before, but it looks great with the green veggies. Mint and asparagus seem odd at first, but I can see how they would work together to be very tasty!
oh i love WC! She’s one of my first blog-friends ever.
Have a wonderful party!!!
That looks like a great salad! I’ve never tried red rice before. It looks really interesting.
I know nothing about web cams, but I’ll ask Mini-SGCC. She runs rings around me on all the tekkie stuff. If you can pull it off, I’ll be there with bells on!
I’ve seen this red rice at my Asian supermarket and now this is the first instance where I’ve seen it cooked. Red Rice Couple? A new moniker? lol
The webcam at your party is a neat-O idea and a very kind gesture to allow us to peek in on the festivities.
wow, wow, this is so gorgeous guys!!! red rice and asparagus…i was just thinking of making risotto asparagus for tonight’s dinner.;but seeing how delicious these photos are..i think i’ll change my mind..gotta rush on a nearest supermarket need to buy my red rice!!
wow, wow, this is so gorgeous guys!!! red rice and asparagus…i was just thinking of making risotto asparagus for tonight’s dinner.;but seeing how delicious these photos are..i think i’ll change my mind..gotta rush on a nearest supermarket need to buy my red rice!
Live web party sounds interesting–I have no idea how to attend.
a live web cam is a fabulous idea! it makes me wish i were more technologically savvy. as it is, i’m lucky i’m able to turn my computer on in the mornings.
gorgeous eats, by the way. that pretty much goes without saying when it comes to your concoctions.
I’ve never really known what to do with red rice. Occasionally there’s some in my pantry, but I end up doing boring things with it. I’m definitely going to try it your way — and it’s so beautiful with the green of the asparagus.
Ooh, yay! Red rice I can easily find here! I love its toasty, interesting flavor.
Unfortunately even with my prided computer-fixing skills, setting up a webcam (something I don’t have) is still way beyond my talents. The first link that came up on Google is this:
http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=465446
It’s easy to understand but I’m cynical as to whether it will work as simply as he explains. I can’t test it because port forwarding is not allowed on my ISP
What a wonderful idea. However on the other hemisphere we will probably be sleeping, we hope to see a video of all the fun you will be having.
I’ve never seen red rice before but it looks great.
This looks delicious! I’ve never had red rice before–I’ll have to try to find it!
As for web cams, that’s a neat idea. I don’t have any experience in the area, but I think Yahoo has some Yahoo Live thing that might support it. *shrugs*
I have never seen such a dark red rice.
Looks so special and delicious
This is gorgeous! I’ve planted mint in the garden this year, so I’m bookmarking all of the wonderful recipes using it that I can find!
Red Rice! How totally cool is that? I’ve seen it in the Asian market and never have really known what to do with it….until now. I love asparagus too! My favorite veggie of all time!
I think the webcam thing is a wonderful idea!
that looks fantastic! i’m totally intrigued with the salad. mmmm.
x
That salad sounds delicious! Great shot too! Cannot wait to join the party via web cam
I got tired of luscious produce and herbs popping everywhere..especially here that I have decided to plant and grow my own…except for asparagus…I need to bribe the neighbor for that!! These look wonderful with the rice!
I’ve never heard nor seen red rice before! Love the salad idea
what gorgeous pics. by red rice you mean bhutanese red rice, right? it is fantastic, and almost 100% organic, ‘cos the farmers up in the Himalayas don’t use pesticides and fertilisers. that may change, though.
Awesome looking salad guys. Blimey, the big day is rather close now isn’t it. I have never tried red rice, the vibrancy of its color just looks outstanding though!
Sorry, I cannot help with the webcam thing.. I am a tech-retard at that kinda stuff. Heck, I only started using a cell phone a year ago..
That looks like a nice way to enjoy asparagus. The vibrant greens and reds look really nice. I will have to look for some red rice.
This recipe has two of my favorite foods, red rice and asparagus, in it. I’ve never tried stir frying them together. I’ll have to give it a try. Looks scrumptious.
Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go
That is an awesome recipe – I love asparagus. Wish I had known about this event before – would have submitted my asparagus soup
Oh yum… red rice. I’ve never had that, but I like every other color of rice I’ve ever eaten. Will definitely keep my eye out for it. I love learning from my blog neighbors. As always, this post is beautiful & engaging.
gorgeous and healthy! i wanna wok with you…alll niteee LOL
Yum…the deep red rice looks delish spilling over the asparagus! So colorful and such a nice dish to serve when enjoying lunch or dinner on the patio this spring. Thanks for sharing!
How I wish I could’ve been there with you guys. Isn’t it great to meet those who *get it* when it comes to good food?
I still have to buy some red rice to make this dish. It looks so appealing.
This looks absolutely delicious. I am a fan of asparagus, but have never seen red rice before – it looks stunning.
Three more days for the Party!! We are anxious to have fun with you. I am back again as I have an Award for you.
Hope you get the live webcam off the ground – sounds like a blast, and I so want to join in the fun! But… I’m away for a couple of days, so am totally relying on you to upload some great pics onto your blog, ok?
Have an absolutely fab day!
hiii! wow, what a refreshing site of delicious food – I’ve been eating out for the past week and cannot wait until I’m completely unpacked and can use my kitchen again!
you should check out stickam for the live web cam thing; it’s an online service like youtube that provides a way to stream live videos. I’ve never used it, but let me know if you get it to work : )
You guys are too awesome! I had so much fun. Just tell me when you want to head up again. Banh xeo restaurant Todd!
What happened to the live webcam so we could be voyeurs?
How did the party go? Did you webcam it? I thought about turning ours on but it was at the same time I was putting out a fire! eeeksss!
Let us know how it went!!
Hey, how was your big bash?! Those lucky blokes have no idea what master chefs you two are. It should have been all of your adoring and loyal readers at that partay!!!
I hope the pups were good at least. This dish looks so lovely. I’m sure everything was a major hit. xxoo