Wild rice chirashi bowl

Wild rice, not a true rice but a nutty-flavoured grass, replaces traditional white rice for a healthful kick. The ideal pick-me-up for when you need a boost of vitamins and protein.

Credit: Sharyn Cairns

• serves

  2

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 150 g (1 cup) cooked wild rice (see Note), warm or at room temperature
• 5 g dried wakame, soaked in 500 ml (2 cups) cold water for 5 minutes, squeezed dry
• 4–6 red radish, thinly shaved (depending on size)
• 1 medium beetroot, scrubbed well and julienned

Pickled tuna

• 200 g sashimi-grade tuna, cut into 1 cm dice
• 1 ripe small avocado, cut into 1 cm dice
• 1 tbsp puffed quinoa or amaranth
• 1½ tsp brown rice vinegar or malt vinegar
• 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

Umeboshi dressing

• 2 umeboshi (Japanese pickled sour plums), stones removed, flesh finely chopped
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp brown rice vinegar or malt vinegar

To garnish

• puffed quinoa or amaranth
• roasted seaweed sheets, thinly sliced
• micro shiso leaves
• mint leaves

Instructions

Make the umeboshi dressing. Place all of the ingredients in a glass jar, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, seal with a lid and shake well. Set aside.

Just before serving, place all of the pickled tuna ingredients in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and fold very gently with a spoon.

Arrange the pickled tuna, wild rice, wakame, radish and beetroot in separate piles in shallow bowls. Drizzle over the dressing. Scatter over the garnishes.

Note

• To cook wild rice, place one part rice to two parts water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid ajar and cook for about 30 minutes or until the rice is tender but still chewy (the rice will split and expose its white centre). The rice will cook better in larger amounts, so make a whole batch and freeze in portions to use another time. 90 g (½ cup) raw wild rice yields 150 g (1 cup) cooked.

Photography by Sharyn Cairns. Styling by Lee Blaylock. Food preparation by Peta Gray. Creative concept by Lou Fay.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.