Exotic nutritious black rice and curly jade green pea shoots, with bright carrot slivers, green onions, and tamari-roasted cashews, all tossed in a zesty dressing of lime juice and toasted sesame oil–you are going to love love love this vibrant black rice and pea shoot salad!
Important! If pea shoots aren’t coming your way, no problem, just substitute snow peas that you’ve cut in thin slivers. Snow peas or pea shoots, you must make this hearty salad!
Click here to PIN Black Rice and Pea Shoot Salad!
Black rice, mixed with emerald green and bright orange make a colorful showstopping salad! For protein, healthy fat, and umami flavor, we toss in tamari-roasted cashews. Perfect for hot summer days, serve it simply, with mixed lettuce greens.
*** You can make your own tamari roasted nuts without turning on the oven– stovetop tamari-roasted almonds.
About pea shoots and snow peas:
Have you ever thought to snip and savor the young leafy tips and tendrils that climb a snow pea trellis? Me neither. Until a tangle of the crunchy sweet pea shoots showed up in our CSA farm share box–they inspired this gorgeous black rice and pea shoot salad!
It’s not like the pea-flavored gems with the charming curl are a new thing–they’ve been an Asian staple for ages. Chinese cooks call them “mustaches of the dragon.” The curly tendrils do kind of twist like the ends of a mustache, don’t they?
- Pea sprouts, leafy green pea shoots, and snow peas all carry low-calorie nutritional weight. They’re good for us!
- Pea plants take a while to produce pea pods, but you can harvest pea shoots within 2 to 4 weeks. They’re tender and crunchy at the same time and taste like, yep, peas! You can eat the tendrils, leaves, and the flowers!
- Snow pea pods are flat, with small premature peas, picked from the vine before the peas have fully developed. The whole pod is edible, though you will want to remove he tough “strings” along the edges before slicing.
- You might also come across younger pea “sprouts”, the first stage of the pea’s growth cycle. After soaking the seeds two to three days, short roots will “sprout.” The sprouts are quite fragile and if you use them in this salad, treat them gently.
- Look for pea shoots at farmers’ markets in the spring and early summer. You might also find them at Asian markets and specialty grocers. Recently I saw a clamshell of organic salad mix featuring pea shoots at our local market. I’m so happy they’ve become more mainstream!
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Black rice or forbidden rice?
- In ancient China, black rice was called “forbidden rice”, because only nobles were allowed to enjoy its wonderful slightly-sweet roasted nutty taste and tender texture.
- Lotus Foods has trademarked the name “forbidden” black rice, so, technically, it’s forbidden to name this salad forbidden black rice and pea shoot salad. Unless you use Forbidden Rice®!
- Black rice’s remarkable color tells us it’s an antioxidant superstar, similar to blueberries, cranberries, and red beets.
You might also like these other recipes featuring black rice:
- Teriyaki Butternut Squash with Black Rice and Edamame.
- Lacquered tofu with Spinach, Arugula, and Black Rice.
Wishing you a fabulous week–get in the kitchen and cook something healthy, seasonal, and delicious!
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Black Rice and Pea Shoot Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup black rice , such as Lotus forbidden rice®
- 1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice or rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 carrots , halved, cut on diagonal
- ½ cup green onions , thinly sliced
- ¾ cup coarsely chopped tamari roasted cashews , see note
- 3 ½ cups coarsely chopped pea shoots, washed and dried (see note)
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint , finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Bring 2 cups water to a boil; add rice, cover and return to a boil, then reduce heat to very low and cook, covered, 30 to 40 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed. (To see if the water has been absorbed without stirring, tilt the pan to the side.) Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes to cool. Fluff with a fork.
- Make a dressing with the tamari soy sauce, lime juice, avocado and sesame oils, cayenne and salt. Stir the dressing into the cooked rice. Mix in the carrots, green onions, cashews, pea shoots, and mint, if using.
- You can serve the salad warm like this or refrigerate until cold and serve later.
Notes
- If you can't find pea shoots, slice up some snow peas and add them instead.
- Use tamari roasted cashews from the bulk bins, or make your own tamari roasted cashews stovetop, in a cast-iron skillet, using 1 cup raw whole cashews and 1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce. Follow these basic directions.
Nutrition
This is an update of the black rice and pea shoot salad first posted here in 2017.
My trainer has just added Black Rice to my diet, so i was just checking out its health benefits and all. I came across this post and i must say that you have explained things really well. Moreover, with that i just got a wonderful recipe as well.
I would rate this full on full. Cheers! · 12 December, 2017
Thank you geet! How lucky are you that your nutritionist taught you about black rice! · 12 December, 2017
Wow! Those photos look delicious and healthy. This will be a great addition to my diet. Thanks for sharing this recipe! · 13 February, 2019
You are welcome Aika. I hope you enjoy the flavors! · 14 February, 2019
I loved this recipe so much . It’s really awesome · 2 August, 2022