Like many people, I am looking for ways to add more vegetables and whole grains to my daily diet. Today I would like to share a recipe for Brown and Wild Rice Salad with Miso Sesame dressing. It is full of whole grained brown and wild rice and vegetable goodness such as carrots, bok choy and cucumber with nutritious tofu, sesame seeds and miso.
Now I realize some of the ingredients, perhaps the miso or wild rice, here may be a bit unusual or something you don’t keep in your pantry. One of the nice things about this recipe is that you can skip any number of items and make substitutions of things that are more to your liking.
I found the recipe for WILD RICE SALAD WITH MISO DRESSING on the blog SPROUTED KITCHEN which describes itself as a tastier take on whole foods. It is full of wonderfully delicious recipes of nutrient dense whole foods. The beautiful photos make me hungry for good things. Go check out all the wonderful recipes on Sprouted Kitchen!
I modified a few things in the recipe here and I imagine you might make a couple of changes yourself. I added a bit more of everything but miso since I wanted to lower sodium a bit. In addition I used more vegetables and added brown rice along with the wild rice. Next time, I may use only the wild and brown rice blend. I cooked the veggies a bit and even added the rice and miso sesame dressing to meld the flavors together. I served it hot the first time, more like a stir fry than a salad. I switched around a few ingredients in the dressings, too.
While this salad is delicately beautiful, it packs a nutritious punch, with nearly every ingredient adding significantly to the nutritional benefits. What are the nutritional benefits?
To start brown rice, a great source of fiber, and B vitamins. Brown rice also contains very high levels of manganese along with selenium, a trace mineral which may help fight cancer. Brown rice also contains many nutrients which may lower cholesterol and benefit cardiovascular health. There are phytonutrients found in brown rice which may be even better for you than those found in fruits and vegetables, according to website- the world’s healthiest foods. (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=128#healthbenefits ) 
Wild rice, which is a grass seed and not really rice, is high in fiber, protein, potassium, manganese, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus and a good blend of B vitamins.
Even little sesame seeds are a very good source of copper and manganese and a good source of magnesium, calcium, iron, phosphorus and zinc. Edamame, green soy beans, are high in fiber, iron, and protein and full of good things like vitamin A and C . Edamame seems to promote good heart health. And do I need to tell you all the good things in carrots?? You can get nearly half of your vitamin A requirement in a small serving. Okay, we are not done yet! This yummy salad also has tofu. Why should you eat tofu? Well, calorie for calorie, it has more protein than ground beef or cheese yet is considerably lower in fat and has NO cholesterol, making it an excellent source of protein not only for vegetarians but for anyone wanting to limit fat or cholesterol. Tofu also contains calcium and iron.
This recipe is just so adaptable. I love how it can be served warm as well as chilled. It is nice to have it warm the first time and then save the rest to be served cold as a salad. It is full of wonderfully nutritious and great tasting things plus if you make a big enough batch it will last several lunches.
Brown and Wild Rice Salad with Miso Sesame Dressing
1 cup wild and brown rice blend, I use Lundberg, cooked with wild rice or according to package
½ cup of wild rice, cooked according to package or together with brown rice blend
12-14 oz Extra firm Tofu, silky or regular, drained, pat dry and cut into small cubes
2-3 tsp coconut oil
2 -3 tsp. soy sauce
2-3 tsp olive or canola oil
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 cup+ thinly slice bok choy
1 cup cooked, shelled organic edamame
½ cucumber , quartered and sliced
1-2 TBSP toasted sesame seeds
Sweet Miso Sesame Dressing
2-3 TBSP white miso*
3 TBSP Rice Vinegar
3 TBSP honey
1 TBSP sesame oil
Juice of small Meyers lemon or orange
2 tsp ginger, crushed (bottled ginger paste is fine!)
1 tsp soy sauce, low sodium if watching sodium intake
3 TBSP canola Light olive or vegetable oil,
Garnish- All optional
3 green onions, sliced
¼ chopped cucumber
1 TBSP toasted sesame seed and 1 TBSP Black sesame seeds,
2 TBSP cilantro chopped
Cook the wild rice and the brown rice blend. You could cook each separately but I think it would be fine to cook the brown and wild rice blend with the extra wild rice added. I like to add just a little bit more water than called for and cook it a bit longer so wild rice is softer.
Next make the dressing. *If you don’t have miso or prefer not to use it, that is fine. You could make this with just a sesame ginger dressing- Increase soy sauce And ginger to 1 TBSP add an extra tsp of sesame oil and an extra TBSP of veggie, olive or canola oil. Maybe throw in a tsp or two of toasted sesame seeds.
In a large shallow pan, add coconut oil and heat to medium high. Pat tofu dry with paper towel and then cut tofu into small cubes. You could put light dusting of corn starch if you like. Add cut up tofu cubes. Cook till Brown, not turning too often. Add soy sauce.
Remove tofu to bowl and add oil to pan. Stir fry carrots for a few minutes or two then add bok choy and cook for a few more minutes. Add rice and edamame. Stir fry for a minute or so. Add as much of the dressing as you like. Let it cool a bit then put into bowl and mix with tofu, cucumber, 1 TBSP sesame seeds and blend gently. Add more or all of dressing to taste.
You may let it cool in fridge a bit or serve immediately. This salad makes awesome leftovers!
