Thai-Style Rice Salad

This recipe occurred semi-accidentally. I was studying various Thai recipes and examining the flavors, and went home to stare at my fridge, and out came this recipe. A wonderful condiment to eat with this dish, and many other asian dishes, is Sambal Oelek, a garlic-chili paste you can find in the asian section of most groceries and asian specialty stores. It's quite spicy, and quite tasty.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 60 mins
• Calories: 623 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups water
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 (14 ounce) cans coconut milk
• ½ lime, juiced
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons white sugar, or to taste
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
• ½ red bell pepper, sliced
• 4 cups uncooked jasmine rice
• 1 teaspoon minced lemon grass
• 1 ½ cups diced pineapple
• 1 Thai chile pepper, seeded and minced
• ½ pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp (30-40 per pound)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Bring the rice, butter, ginger, coconut milk, water, and salt to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, fluff with a fork, and refrigerate until cold.

Step 2

Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic, shallot, minced chile pepper, ginger, and lemon grass; cook for 1 minute until the shallot begins to go limp. Add the shrimp; cook and stir until the shrimp has turned pink, then stir in the red bell pepper slices. Continue cooking until the shrimp is no longer opaque in the center. Season with basil, fish sauce, soy sauce, and lime juice.

Step 3

Stir the shrimp mixture into the chilled rice along with the pineapple and sugar. Sprinkle with cilantro to serve.