Thai Coconut Rice Salad

Two weeks ago, I ran the half marathon distance of the St Paul Monster Dash.  It was a gorgeous fall day and the course was completely beautiful.  I wish I could also say it was the perfect race for me, but it wasn’t.  I was lucky to cross the finish line on this one.

I had trained very hard for 6 months to get my mileage and time to where I wanted them to be.  Just the week before, my 12 mile run had felt fabulous with a fabulous time to match.  So why, 7 days later, did I feel like I was going to die?  I knew I was in trouble just a few miles in.  I had to decide if I was going to walk away or fight to the 13.1 mile finish.   I decided to fight to the end, and believe me, it was a battle!  While I did not set a new personal record for my time like I had planned, I chose not to be disappointed.  I chose to be proud of how hard I had trained and how unbelievably hard I had to push myself during the race when my body was not cooperating.

From past experiences, I knew something I had eaten is what made me so sick.  I am gluten intolerant and during my 6 months of training, I was meticulous in everything I ate instead of my normal cautiousness when it came to gluten.  I knew that there was no way gluten had made me sick.  It was something else and I now think it was rice.  I’ve been doing some dietary experimentation over the past couple weeks and my body has definitely decided rice is no longer it’s friend.

I wish I would have made this discovery a few weeks earlier because for the three days leading up to my half marathon, I completely pigged out on this addictive Thai Coconut Rice Salad.  I couldn’t stop eating it.  It was so yummy that my hubby and I fought over the last helping in the fridge the day before my race.  I won…..

So for those of you whose bodies aren’t stupid like mine, you have to give this recipe a try because you will be making it over and over and over again!  It is a vegetarian and vegan salad, but it was be rock-star awesome with your favorite protein mixed in as well.

Thai Coconut Rice Salad

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Ingredients

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Salad

• 1 1/2 C jasmine rice
• 15 ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 C water
• 2 red bell peppers, chopped
• 1/2 small red cabbage, sliced
• 1 1/2 C shredded carrots
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 1 C chopped cilantro
• 3/4 C chopped green onions
• 2 C salted peanuts

Dressing

• 1/3 C peanut butter
• 2 Tb honey or agave
• 3 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 Tb rice vinegar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 1/2 Tb siracha
• water to thin
• 2 limes, sliced – don’t skip these!!!

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Instructions

1. Rinse the dry rice in a strainer until the water runs clear. In a medium sized pot, mix together the rice, coconut milk, garlic salt and water. Cover and bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and let simmer until liquid is gone, about 15 minutes.
2. Once the rice is cooked, fluff the rice with a fork and put it in a large bowl. Add the peppers, cabbage, carrots, red onion, cilantro, green onions and peanuts. Mix well until combined.
3. Make the dressing by combining the peanut butter, honey, ginger, rice vinegar, siracha and sesame oil. Add enough water to thin it out to the consistency of a thick pancake batter.
4. To serve, place the rice salad on a plate, then drizzle on some of the dressing along with a generous squeeze of the lime. Do not skip the lime juice because it is part of the dressing! Add a few additional peanuts over the top and a few extra drops of siracha if you like it a bit spicier like we do.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/8th
• Calories: 344
• Sugar: 14g
• Sodium: 565mg
• Fat: 22g
• Saturated Fat: 4g
• Unsaturated Fat: 12g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 33g
• Fiber: 8g
• Protein: 12g
• Cholesterol: 0mg