Sushi rice salad

This recipe for sushi rice salad comes from my friend Jenny – a wonderful cook, effortless host, and one of those people who is always generous with her time, home, and recipes.

Jenny was the first person we met when we moved house more than 20 years ago. I don’t know how common it is, but in a street of maybe 40 houses, we’re on speaking terms with well over half our neighbours.

Jenny deserves her share of the credit for this. She loves to entertain, and regularly organised social gatherings that brought people together. She and her family moved years ago, but the sense of community endures.

I first tried this sushi rice salad at a 90th birthday party Jenny catered for one of our neighbours. It was love at first bite, and I’ve made it regularly ever since.

The magic of this salad is in the dressing. The fresh herbs, lime juice, fish sauce and sushi vinegar fuse into something truly special.

Sushi rice salad is good enough to eat on its own, and also works well alongside a piece of grilled fish.

Sushi rice salad
(serves 4)

• 1½ cups sushi rice
• 3 cups water
• 2 Tb sugar
• 1 Tb salt
• 3 Tb rice vinegar
• a small bunch coriander
• 1 small bunch mint, leaves only
• 1 clove garlic
• a thumb of ginger, peeled
• 1 Tb fish sauce
• 1 tsp wasabi paste
• 1 lime, juiced
• 4 Tb sunflower oil
• ½ a cucumber, finely diced
• 4 green onions, sliced thinly crosswise
• 1 red chilli, seeded and minced

1. Cook the rice in a saucepan or rice cooker.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, salt and rice vinegar.
3. Tip the hot rice into a serving bowl, then stir through the seasoned vinegar. Set aside to cool.
4. In a food processor, blend the coriander, mint leaves, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, wasabi, lime juice and olive oil into a pourable dressing. (Depending on the quantity of herbs and juiciness of the lime, you may need to thin it a bit with extra lime juice or water.)
5. Stir the cucumber, green onions and chilli into the rice. Pour the dressing over top and stir thoroughly to combine.

Tags: cucumber, dairy-free, gluten-free, sushi rice