Hawaiian Style Rice Salad with a Pineapple Dressing from Dahlia Haas

Don’t be discouraged by the long list of ingredients. It’s a snap to make and leftovers can be stir-fried in a wok for another dinner during the week. Remember, dress the salad just before serving.

Makes 8 Servings

Ingredients for Rice

2 Cups Brown Rice, cooked

1 Cup Carrots, peeled & shredded

¾ Cup Scallion, finely diced

½ Cup Cashews, chopped

1 ½ Cup Snow peas

Ingredients for Dressing:

1/3 Cup Olive oil

3 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Oil

1 Medium Garlic clove, minced

Hot chili oil to taste

2 Tablespoons Soy sauce

1 Cup Fresh pineapple, cubed

1 Tablespoon Fresh ginger, peeled

1 ½ teaspoon salt

Method

Place all the ingredients for the rice salad in a large bowl and toss to combine. Salad can be made 2 days ahead covered in the refrigerator until needed.

Place all the dressing ingredients in a blender and pulse until well combined and smooth. Dressing can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

To serve: Combine just enough dressing into the rice salad and toss well.

Don’t over dress.

Dahlia Haas is a renowned cooking teacher, writer, food stylist and photographer in Los Angeles and on the Hawaiian Islands. She writes seasonal stories with recipes called “Cooking Fresh” printed in the award-winning magazine Edible Hawaiian Islands.  Dahlia travels extensively creating recipes for the magazine and her cooking school in Beverly Hills, The All Seasons Cooking School, established in 1996.