Spicy Azuki Bean and Brown Rice Salad

Spicy Azuki Bean and Brown Rice Salad

Known simply as "red bean" where it is widely cultivated in east Asia, the little azuki bean is rather neglected elsewhere … a bit of a shame given its light and creamy texture and mild, slightly sweet and nutty flavor when cooked that make it an easy and delightful pairing with other Asian tastes. Quite for that reason I came up with this simple and zesty Asian-style azuki and brown rice salad to go along with my mushroom, miso and seaweed soup to complete a nourishing and colorful light dinner.


Spicy Azuki Bean and Brown Rice SaladSpicy Azuki Bean and Brown Rice Salad
Recipe by
Cuisine: Asian
Published on July 14, 2009

A simple, nourishing, colorful and zesty Asian-style azuki bean and brown rice salad that makes a great lunch or light dinner.

Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients:
  • 3/4 cup dried azuki beans
  • 3/4 cup brown rice
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons tamari sauce
  • juice of 1/2 lemon (1 1/2 tablespoons)
  • 1-inch fresh ginger, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 green chilies, seeded and minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • 3 green onions, green and white parts sliced
  • 1 carrot, finely sliced
  • 3 radishes, finely sliced
  • 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
Instructions:
  • Rinse the azuki beans under cold running water and soak overnight in a bowl covered in several inches of cold water with a little yogurt whey or lemon juice added. Separately, rinse the brown rice under cold running water and soak overnight in 1 1/2 cups cold water in a small saucepan.

  • Drain and rinse the soaked beans and add to a medium saucepan. Cover with several inches of fresh cold water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes or until the beans are tender but firm. Drain and set aside to cool.

  • Meanwhile, bring the rice and soaking liquid to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed. Fluff with a fork and set aside to cool.

  • Combine the oils, vinegar, tamari sauce, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, cayenne and the white parts of the green onions in a bowl and whisk. In a large bowl, combine the cooled beans and rice with the carrots, radishes and chilies, and toss gently with the dressing.

  • Lightly toast the sesame seeds to a golden brown over medium-low heat in a frying pan or small saucepan. Scatter the toasted sesame seeds and green parts of the green onions over the salad and serve.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Spicy Azuki Bean and Brown Rice Salad

If you liked this recipe you may also enjoy:
Lucy's Adzuki Croquettes and Spicy Sesame Sauce
Spicy Azuki Bean Risotto
Yunnan Stir-Fired Azuki Beans and Green Pepper

On the top of the reading stack: A Wrinkle in Timeby Madeleine L'Engle

Audio accompaniment: Arc of Passionby Steve Roach

19 comments:

Johanna GGG said...

what a riot of nutrition, colour and flavour - this looks good enough to tempt me to try radishes!

Unknown said...

Looks absolutely....mouthwatering Lisa..the colors are so perfect...

Suparna said...

Lisa,
This is absolutely gorgeous!!! healthy food dressed up at it's best!! I just fell for the look of it :)
Keep rocking!!
TC

Vidya said...

Yummy salad Lisa. It is a feast for the eyes as well. Love the addition of crunchy radishes.

Deeba PAB said...

Great salad with so much colour & flavour Lisa! ☺

Bindiya said...

Loved the presentation of your food, really tempting!

Vanamala Hebbar said...

Looks awesome..tempting

Pooja said...

Nutrition packed salad! Shots are tempting :)

Anonymous said...

oh my..looks fab!too good..

eatme_delicious said...

I bought some azuki (adzuki?) beans but didn't really love them. Maybe because they remind me too much of Asian desserts like red bean soup hm.

Usha said...

This is such a gorgeous and healthful salad, loved it ! I have never used tamari sauce yet, I need to check it out soon....

iRaw said...

Your salad looks fantastic! I really like the combination of flavors you put together.

LIGHTHEADED STREET SALON said...

oh wow this looks delicious. i have been looking for a savoury red bean recipe and this seems perfect - i have all of these ingredients in my home already! xo

Unknown said...

This dish was unbelievable. I've sent it to every person I know that loves to cook. Bold flavors,very healing ingredients, filling

Anonymous said...

Very good mix of flavors! I omitted the radishes (don't much like them), and for convenience subbed 1 small can diced green chilies for the chopped seeded chili pepper. Think it would be perfect on a bed of nappa or bok choy!

Erin said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS!!!!! Although I didn't have all the ingredients (was missing sesame oil, chiles, radishes, green onions and substituted rice wine vinegar for white wine vinegar), it was DELICIOUS and I will be making this very often!!

LOVE IT!!!!!!

Reiki Girl said...

So good and so good for you! This has become one of my go-to meals. I tweak the vegetables here and there. Just made it with cucumbers instead of carrots. Sometimes I add some shitakes cooked in mirin. I usually add avocado and some toasted nori. The flavors are amazing and I've given the recipe to other people who love it as well. Thanks for sharing!

Tracy said...

Okay folks when I looked up adzuki bean recipe on google It brought me to this link and when I saw this, it looked delicious. Spicy is right up my alley! As someone who enjoys cooking, rarely do I find a recipe that is out of this world and folks I have to say this one is definitely it. It has a perfect blending of flavors with the perfect amount of heat. This one will be made often in my home- was a huge hit with my family as well.

Barbara said...

I made a similar Aduki Bean salad from a recipe by Amy Chaplin. It called for pickled cucumbers which added a joie de vivre to the Aduki Bean Salad and were easy to make. Go to
http://www.cookingthekitchen.com/Topics/beans-2/
for photos and the recipe.