It’s been a salad kind of summer so far. Hot days spent camping with friends, impromptu picnics in the park, afternoons watching the tennis, reading in the garden with Test Match Special on in the background. Food has had to fit around summer life and, of all the meals, this has been one of the best. It has summer etched into the heart of it in that it’s fresh, flavourful and good for feeding a crowd. It’s a (very) wild take on Laotian crispy rice salad and is abundant with herbs, garden vegetables and, crucially, there’s barely any “cooking” involved at all.
Summer crispy rice salad with tofu, lime and herbs
If you want to get ahead, cook the rice earlier or even the day before, and refrigerate. Not all vegan fish sauces are equal: Thai Taste makes a good one.
Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 4, or 6 as a side
350g jasmine rice, or 1kg leftover cooked rice
5 tbsp rapeseed oil
280g extra-firm tofu, drained
2-3 red bird’s eye chillies, to taste, stalks discarded, flesh finely sliced
7½ tbsp vegan fish sauce
7½ tbsp lime juice (from 4-5 limes)
1½ tbsp light muscovado sugar
1 large cucumber (300g), halved lengthways, seeds scooped out and flesh cut into julienne strips
3 round shallots, peeled, halved and cut into very thin half-moons
300g cherry tomatoes, halved
40g coriander, roughly chopped
40g mint, leaves picked
50g roasted salted peanuts, chopped
If you’re cooking the rice from scratch, put it in a sieve and rinse under the cold tap until the water runs clear. Tip the rice into a pan, add 600ml just-boiled water and bring back to a boil. Cover, turn down the heat to a whisper and leave to cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the rice to steam, still with the lid on, for another five minutes. Spread the rice on your largest oven tray and leave to cool completely.
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Stir three tablespoons of oil through the cooled rice, then bake, turning occasionally, for 45 minutes, until golden and crisp at the edges.
Put the drained tofu on a board and crumble it with your fingers (or use the back of a knife to break it up). Tip on to a second oven tray, drizzle over the remaining two tablespoons of oil and bake for the last 20 minutes of the rice cooking time.
Take out the rice and tofu trays and leave to cool slightly. In a bowl, whisk the chilli, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar until the sugar dissolves.
In a large bowl, combine the cucumber, shallot, tomatoes, herbs, tofu and peanuts, add the crisp rice, then pour the dressing over the top. Toss gently to coat everything evenly, then serve.