How To Make The Viral Crispy Rice Salad

Looking to level up your salad game this autumn? We’ve got just the ticket. The latest recipe to go viral on TikTok and Instagram is the crispy rice salad, an Asian-inspired dish which uses baked or fried rice to add texture and flavour to salads. It’s a great way to cut food waste too, as it uses leftover rice, which often ends up in the bin – and the carbohydrate addition will help keep you fuller for longer. Give it a go yourself with one of TikTok’s most popular takes on the viral recipe, created by creator @kalejunkie, which has racked up over a million views.

Crispy Rice Salads Are All Over TikTok

What Is Crispy Rice Salad?

Crispy rice salad recipes are trending online right now, but they have long been enjoyed in Laos in southeast Asia, where the dish is known as Nam Khao. The traditional version sees balls of rice cooked in herbs and fried, then served salad-style with ingredients like herbs, peanuts and pork. 

In recent months, TikTokers have begun creating their own takes on the crispy rice salad, which tend to involve baking or frying cooked rice, then mixing it into salads (rather than creating rice balls). There are plenty of different ways to create this dish, but often recipes include green vegetables like broccoli, spring onions and cucumber, alongside peanuts, edamame and fresh herbs. You can either cook the rice fresh, or use day-old rice – but if you’re doing the latter, make sure it’s steaming hot all the way through, and don’t reheat if it was cooked over 24 hours ago.

@kalejunkie *NEW* CRISPY RICE CUCUMBER SALAD WITH LEMON TAHINI DRESSING and omgahhhhh perhaps this is one of my best combos of 2024, which is saying a lot! I have been seeing crispy rice salads floating around and as a gal that loves maximum crunch and texture, I had to create my own version. It is a WINNER. A party in your mouth that will have you swooning over this one and making it on repeat. Makes 4 large servings or 6 smaller Crispy Rice 2 cups cooked rice, cooled (I used jasmine rice) 2 tsp soy sauce 2 tb chili crisp/crunch (Trader Joe’s makes a good one, l used Momofuku this time!) 1 tb sesame oil Salad 5 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced (or 1 large English cucumber) 1 cup edamame, shelled 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced (3/4 cup) 1 bunch fresh mint, chopped (1/2 cup) 2 avocados, chopped 1 cup salted peanuts, finely chopped Lemon Tahini Dressing 1/2 cup olive oil 1/3 cup lemon juice (this is 1-2 lemons) 3 tb tahini 11/2 to maple syrup 2 cloves garlic, mashed 1 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp kosher salt 3/4 tsp ground black pepper First, prepare the crispy rice topping. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add cooked and cooled rice to the baking sheet. Toss well with the soy sauce, chili crisp and sesame oil. Bake for 30-40 minutes, tossing half way through. Remove from the oven once the rice is crispy and set aside. Next, chop/slice all of the ingredients for the salad and add to a large bowl. Last, make the dressing. Whisk to together all of the ingredients for the dressing. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Pour dressing over the salad. Add the crispy rice last, toss and enjoy! #salad #saladrecipes #crispyrice #crispyricesalad ♬ original sound – Nicole K. Modic

Recipe: Crispy Rice Cucumber Salad With Lemon Tahini Dressing

Makes 4 large servings or 6 smaller

Ingredients:

Crispy rice 

• 400g cooked rice, cooled
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp chili crisp/crunch
• 1 tbsp sesame oil 

Salad 

• 5 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced (or 1 large English cucumber)
• 100g edamame, shelled 
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch fresh mint, chopped
• 2 avocados, chopped 
• 100g salted peanuts, finely chopped 

Lemon tahini dressing

• 1/2 cup olive oil 
• Juice of 1-2 lemons
• 3 tbsp tahini 
• 1 ½ tsp maple syrup 
• 2 cloves garlic, mashed 
• 1 tsp cumin 
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ¾ tsp ground black pepper 

Method:

1. First, prepare the crispy rice topping. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Add cooked and cooled rice to the baking sheet. Toss well with the soy sauce, chili crisp and sesame oil. 
3. Bake for 30-40 minutes, tossing half way through. 
4. Remove from the oven once the rice is crispy and set aside. Next, chop/slice all of the ingredients for the salad and add to a large bowl. 
5. Last, make the dressing. 
6. Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing. 
7. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Pour dressing over the salad. 
8. Add the crispy rice last, toss and enjoy!

Recipe by @kalejunkie on TikTok