Brown Rice Broccoli Salad with Edamame and Orange Miso Vinaigrette
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This brown rice broccoli salad is so balanced and wholesome! Brown rice and edamame ensure that the salad is rich in protein, fiber, and energy-sustaining complex carbohydrates. Shredded red cabbage and a bright, savory orange miso vinaigrette give the salad color and flavor. This is an easy salad to meal prep and can be made more filling with the addition of tofu, tempeh, or seitan.

Brown Rice, Edamame, and Broccoli Salad with Citrus Miso Dressing | The Full Helping

Happy humpday! Having just spent a solid two hours working on impossible dilution problems with my fellow post-baccs, I can officially say that I’m glad the week is drawing to a close.

Today’s recipe—a scrumptious and filling brown rice salad with edamame, broccoli, and a citrus miso dressing—was mostly an accident. I made rice this weekend, as is my custom: every Saturday or Sunday, I use my rice cooker to whip up a few batches of whole grain, which I then go on to use in salads, grain salads, or on their own throughout the week. As the rice was cooking, I also made some freshly squeezed OJ for a salad dressing that I had been thinking about

As soon as I had the dressing in hand, it occurred to me that it might be good with the rice. And since no meal in my home is complete without a preposterous number of vegetables, I began rummaging through my fridge for some color and crunch.

By the time this salad was done, it occurred to me that the best and easiest vegan dinners come together precisely this way: make a whole grain. Add flavor in the form of dressing or seasoning. Consider a protein source—in this case, edamame. Add vegetables. Lots of them. It’s really that simple. I’ve been cooking vegan for so long that I forget how hard it is to for people who are accustomed to structuring dinners around animal proteins to begin constructing vegan meals instead. If you’re in that boat, consider the steps above my super-speedy primer!

And consider this meal as a contender for your next dinner.

Brown Rice, Edamame, and Broccoli Salad with Citrus Miso Dressing | The Full Helping

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Brown Rice Broccoli Salad with Edamame and Orange Miso Vinaigrette

Author – Gena Hamshaw
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup short grain brown rice (180g)
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen, shelled edamame, thawed (225g)
  • 3 cups broccoli florets (300g)
  • 1 1/2 cups red cabbage, shredded and lightly packed (85g)
  • 1 cup orange sections or canned mandarin orange slices, packed in juice (115g)
  • 1 batch orange miso vinaigrette
  • Chopped scallion tops (optional, for serving)

Instructions

  • Place the rice in a fine- mesh sieve and rinse under cold running water for about 30 seconds. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the rice and boil (like pasta) until tender, 40 to 45 minutes, then remove the rice from the heat. Drain the rice and return it to the pot. Cover and allow it to steam for 10 minutes. Uncover the pot and fluff the rice gently with a fork. Re-cover and set aside.
  • While the rice cooks, fill another pot with a few inches of water and fit it with a steamer insert. Bring the water to a simmer. Add the broccoli and edamame to the steamer insert. Steam for 5 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender, yet still bright green and crisp, and the edamame is warm.
  • Place the rice, broccoli, edamame, and cabbage into a large mixing bowl. Add the vinaigrette and mix well to combine.
  • Divide the grain salad into plates or onto bowls. Garnish each plate with some orange section and a sprinkling of chopped scallion tops, if you like. Serve.

Notes

The grain salad can be dressed and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Add the oranges and scallion tops right before serving.
Brown Rice, Edamame, and Broccoli Salad with Citrus Miso Dressing | The Full Helping

This meal is quick, easy, and full of vibrant flavor, color, and nutrition. Rice provides hearty whole grain sustenance, while edamame delivers a protein boost. The cabbage and broccoli both provide vitamin C, along with powerful antioxidants.

Before I go, a HUGE thanks to all who participated in last night’s fabulous VegNews twitter chat. It was inspiring and a lot of fun. The transcript, for those of you who couldn’t join in, will be up soon, and I’ll share the link so that you can see what you missed!

xo

Images courtesy of Lighter.

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Categories: Recipes, Salads
Ingredients: Broccoli, Cabbage, Rice
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, No Oil, Tree Nut Free

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    30 Comments
  1. Just made this dressing for the second time since you posted it, and had to comment on how much I love it! It was a great complement to soba noodles with kale, radishes, and cilantro.

  2. A feast for the eyes! What a lovely photo 🙂
    This is my favorite way to pack lunch, too: quinoa or rice, frozen veggies, and tempeh or edamame in a glass container. I add my sauce/seasoning and zap it on my break. So easy and satisfying!

  3. What’s the difference between rice vinegar and seasoned rice vinegar? Can I use plain here or is it worth seeking out?
    Thanks! Looks yum
    Hannah

  4. This looks great! I think your description of putting together vegan meals is spot on. Once you get the hang of that, being vegan doesn’t seem so daunting!

  5. Oh so colourful, Gena! Looks gorgeous! I had been planning to make an orange-based millet bowl with edamame, but I like your addition of the purple cabbage and broccoli… of course, the miso and tahini look like great additions, too. 🙂 Yum!

  6. Such a vibrant salad! I’m going to try it with broad beans instead of edamame beans because they are easier to get where I am, and I LOVE broad beans, specially as a dip with tahini. Yum yum. I love all your dressings Gena so can’t wait to taste this one!

    • If you can get to a Planet Organic or Wholefoods then I always find them there. Otherwise Chinese and Japanese shops tend to carry them. Hope that helps x

  7. Gena I can’t wait to make this salad! I might try it with wheatberries as I have some kicking around I’ve been wondering what to do with. Maybe wheatberries AND rice!

    I know I’ve been throwing a lot of questions at you lately, but your opinions are always very articulate and well informed. I was researching soy today and I came across this page, I was wondering if you were familiar with these arguments (I’m sure you are) and what you think about them. http://naughtynutritionist.com/soy/plants-bite-back-2/

    She seems kind of hokey (naught nutritionist?) but she has a bunch of peer-reviewed research cited here. I know there are two sides or more to everything, but some of this has me a little worried. I’d love to know what you think if you get time. I know you’re busy.

    If not, I still can’t wait to make this salad! Thanks!

  8. That looks like the perfect summer salad! Or perhaps it’d be refreshing on a 60* winter day in DC? I love all the vibrant colors!

  9. This looks wonderful! I like your whole grain – protein – vegetable – formula!

  10. Yay! This looks awesome for pack your own lunches when your in classes all day! I’ve been doing something similar brown rice with kale, cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes with your green goddess dressing. But next week I fully intend to switch it up a notch with this! Btw also juiced a beet for the first time with your beet and orange juice so amazing! I found a new way to enjoy my least favorite vegetable 🙂

  11. Do you think garbanzos would be good with this in place of the edamame? I’m not a fan, but that looks like a delicious meal! And I’ve got plenty on hand to create something similar!

  12. Ah I love colorful dinners! This looks awesome. I could see our vegetarian dining hall doing this. Gena, what are some simple vegan salad dressing recipes I could recommend to the dining services staff? Everything is Ken’s brand, and I get sick of olive oil on my salad every day. There must be an easy dressing they could make once a day? What do you think?

  13. Looks amazing. I love the colours, although I’m one of those people who doesn’t love sweet and savoury combos.

    I agree, if you consider a grain/bread/pasta and then load with veg, plus a protein and add seasonings or dressings for flavour, you can’t really go wrong!

    • It wont be a savory and sweet combo, I promise. The oranges just add a citric kick. And if you are referring to the agave in the dressing, it will only be to neutralize the incredible bitterness you find with tahini, and also the extreme saltyness of the miso. Granted, I would not use orange juice from the store if you don’t like sweet since they add so much nasty added sugars and chemicals. But freshly squeezed in your juicer, straight up citrus kick and punch promise. This is a well balanced flavor range.

  14. Delicious!! I recently went to a special event at Whole Foods and the purpose of the whole night was basically to promote the consumption of these healthy bowls- a whole grain, a protein, veg, and a healthy sauce.