Smacked cucumber and crispy rice salad
Serves: 2
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Stuart West
Smacked cucumber and crispy rice salad
We throw away a huge amount of rice every year in the UK – and yet it makes for brilliantly versatile leftovers. Here, it's crisped up in sesame oil to bring crunch to a spicy smacked cucumber salad. Use up any herbs, salad vegetables and nuts you have to hand
Serves: 2
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
See more recipes
Nutritional information (Serving)
Calories
560Kcal
Fat
28gr
Saturates
4gr
Carbs
55gr
Sugars
10gr
Fibre
7gr
Protein
20gr
Salt
1.8gr
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our Senior Food Producer. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our Senior Food Producer. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
Ingredients
- about 25g nuts (e.g. peanuts, cashews or pistachios)
- 2 tbsp sesame or vegetable oil
- 250g leftover cold cooked rice (or a 250g pouch of cooked jasmine rice)
- 175g pack edamame beans
- 3 spring onions, finely sliced
- large handful of herbs, roughly chopped (e.g. mint and/or coriander)
For the smacked cucumber
- 1 small whole cucumber (or ⅔ regular cucumber)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sugar (e.g. caster)
- juice of ½ lime
- 1 tsp chilli oil (e.g. Chiu Chow), plus extra to serve (optional)
- 1 tsp ginger paste
Step by step
- Slice the cucumber lengthways in half, then place cut-side down on a chopping board. Bash with a rolling pin until the sides split open. Scoop out most of the watery seeds with a teaspoon, then slice each cucumber half lengthways again and cut into chunks. Place in a colander set over the sink, then toss with a pinch of salt. Set aside to drain for about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together all the remaining ingredients for the smacked cucumber until combined. Toast the nuts in a large frying pan for a few minutes, until golden. Set aside to cool.
- Put the drained cucumber in a large bowl and toss through the soy dressing. Set aside to marinate while you continue.
- Heat the oil in the same frying pan over a medium heat. Add the rice in an even layer. Leave to cook for 5-7 minutes, or until a pale golden crust forms. Gently turn over (don’t worry if it breaks up) and repeat on the other side. Once golden and crisp, set aside for 10 minutes to cool.
- Add the crispy rice to the bowl of cucumber. Toss through the edamame beans, spring onions and most of the chopped herbs. Divide between two shallow bowls, then top with the toasted nuts, remaining herbs and a little extra chilli oil, if you like it spicy.
