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 (vegan, gluten free)
Serves 4 generously
For the dressing:
2/3 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed if you can)
3 T mellow white miso (or any miso)
2 T seasoned rice vinegar
1 T agave or maple syrup
1 T tahini
For the salad:
1 cup brown rice (dry)
1 1/2 cups edamame, frozen and shelled
2 cups broccoli florets, chopped
1 cup red cabbage, chopped
Orange slices (optional)
1) Cook the rice according to stovetop or rice cooker instructions. Fluff and set aside.
2) While rice cooks, blend all dressing ingredients together till smooth.
3) Put a steamer insert into a medium pot of water, and bring to a boil. Steam the edamame till tender, then add broccoli and cabbage. Steam just until crisp-tender.
4) Add steamed vegetables to the rice. Pour at least 1/2 cup dressing over salad, and more to taste (I used most of it). Mix well. Serve warm or cold, and garnish with fresh orange pieces!
Check out the fantastic, bright colors of this dish!
A dinner bowl to savor. Along with a little fresh salad, of course!
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
I'm a Certified Clinical Nutritionist, a former book editor, and a post-baccalaureate pre-med student at Georgetown University. I'm passionate about helping people to discover and enjoy plant based foods in a simple and healthy way. My name is pronounced like "Jenna." 
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Delicious! This dish combines some of my all-time favourite flavours!
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.
I love simple, citrus, clean-tasting, dressings and vinaigrettes and this looks delish!
And I love the pops of orange and green and that vibrant purple. So pretty!
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.
Wow! What a striking recipe! Truly eating by color.
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?
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!
What a gorgeous dish! I will have to make this.
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
This looks wonderful! I like your whole grain – protein – vegetable – formula!
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!
Sounds perfect. I look forward to brown rice again soon.
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!
Nice. You’ve always got such beautiful light in your photos, as though it’s summer year round !
how long does the rice last?
Such vibrant colours! I struggle to find frozen edamame here in the UK for some reason, but I may attempt to re-create using broad beans.
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
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!
I love the saltiness of miso dressings – will deff be trying this, thankyou!
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!
Wow!! I bet it tasted as bright + fresh as it looks! Lovely, Gena!
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!
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
Seasoned rice vinegar has sugar added to it. I would suggest sweetening it to taste if using regular rice vinegar and not searching out the seasoned stuff.
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!
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.
Every time I make one of your dressing Gena, I say “best dressing ever”!
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