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Salad

Japanese-style Rice Salad

A Japanese-style rice salad of brown rice, baked tempeh, corn, mushrooms, radishes and watercress.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 15 ingredients
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Why it works: Wasabi and watercress share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 3 recipes mention both. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

The recipe

Oven375°F
Timeabout 35 minutes

Ingredients

Contains: peanut, soy, sesame (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Marinate the tempeh

  1. In a medium saucepan, bring 2 inches of water to a boil over high heat.

  2. Place a steamer basket in the saucepan, add the tempeh, cover and steam for 20 minutes.

  3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix the tamari, wasabi powder if using, and sesame oil.

  4. Add the hot tempeh and mix well to coat.

  5. Set aside to marinate while preparing the rice.

Cook the rice

  1. In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil.

  2. Add the rice and salt and return to a boil.

  3. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until the water is absorbed, about 35 minutes.

  4. Remove the rice from the heat and let it stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

  5. Transfer the rice to a large bowl and fluff with a fork.

Bake the tempeh and cook the corn

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

  2. Drain the tempeh and spread it on a baking sheet.

  3. Bake, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned on all sides, about 25 minutes.

  4. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil.

  5. Add the corn, cover and cook for 2 minutes.

  6. Drain, rinse under cold running water and drain well. Set aside.

Dress and assemble

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar and mirin.

  2. Gradually pour the mixture over the rice while it is still slightly warm and mix gently to combine.

  3. When the rice reaches room temperature, add the corn, mushrooms, radishes and tempeh and toss to blend.

  4. Break the thick stems off the watercress; discard.

  5. Break the remaining watercress in half, wash, then dry thoroughly in a salad spinner or with paper towels.

  6. In a large bowl, toss the watercress with the Peanut-Miso Dressing.

  7. Place the rice salad and watercress on individual serving plates; garnish with the carrots and daikon.

  8. Alternatively, if the salad is part of a buffet, place the rice salad and watercress side by side on a large serving platter and arrange the carrots and daikon on a separate plate.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Wasabi + watercresstop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together3 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Wasabi + sesametop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together68 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Rice + corntop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together895 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Sesame + ricetop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together643 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

  5. Radish + watercresstop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together14 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Tempeh
Provides protein and a firm, chewy texture that holds up in the salad.
Long-grain brown rice
Forms the bulk of the salad and gives a chewy, nutty-textured base.
Tamari
Adds salty, savory flavor that seasons the tempeh as it marinates.
Rice vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the rice and balances the savory flavors.
Dark sesame oil
Contributes fat and a toasty aroma to the marinade.
Corn kernels
Adds natural sweetness and a crisp, juicy bite.

The step that matters

Gradually pour the vinegar mixture over the rice while it is still slightly warm. Warm rice absorbs the seasoned vinegar evenly, so the grains are flavored throughout. Cold rice absorbs little and can taste patchy.

Flavor stand-ins for the wasabi

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sauce, sesame, rice, corn, vinegar, mushroom, radish):

  1. Capsicumbetter flavor fit
  2. Cucumberbetter flavor fit
  3. Tomatobetter flavor fit
  4. Wasabithe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sauce, sesame, rice, corn, vinegar, mushroom, radish. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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