Air fryer crispy rice salad with chicken
Red curry rice crisped into crunchy golden chunks and tossed with chicken, herbs, peanuts and a sour, salty lime dressing, inspired by Laotian nam khao.
- 60 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $3.07 a serving
- 500 calories
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Most of the time here is hands-off, so you can sit down while it cooks.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 1½ tbsp Thai red curry paste
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp fish sauce, divided
- 3 limes, juiced
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ cup cilantro, leaves
- ¼ cup fresh mint, leaves (optional)
- ⅓ cup peanuts, chopped
- 1 head butter lettuce, leaves separated
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
Each serving has about 500 calories, 28 g protein, 53 g carbs and 21 g fat, and costs about $3.07 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No jasmine rice? Long-grain white rice or basmati rice works.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No butter lettuce? Iceberg lettuce or green leaf lettuce or romaine lettuce works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice, then bring it and 1¼ cups of water in a on high.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Dolly’s tip: Cold leftover rice works even better here. Use 3 cups and skip ahead to the curry paste.Cover, turn the heat to low and cook 15 minutes, then spread the rice on a plate to cool for 15 minutes.
Low heatTimer: 30 min
the air fryer to 400°F. Mix the rice with the curry paste, egg and 1 teaspoon of the fish sauce until every grain is orange.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
With wet hands, press the rice into 6 flat patties about ½ inch thick and brush both sides with the oil.
Air fry 15 to 18 minutes, flipping halfway, until deep and crunchy all over.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 17 min
Dolly’s tip: They should sound hollow and crackly when you tap them. Pale patties need a few more minutes.Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
the lime juice, the rest of the fish sauce, the sugar and pepper flakes until the sugar dissolves.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
the chicken, the onions, pick the herb leaves and the peanuts.
Shred. Shredding means making thin strips, either on the big holes of a grater or by pulling cooked meat apart with two forks. Shreds soak up sauce and mix evenly through a dish.
How you’ll know: Cooked chicken pulls apart into strands with little effort, and cheese comes off in long, loose strips.
Thinly slice. Thinly slicing means cutting slices about an eighth of an inch thick, roughly two coins stacked. Thin slices cook in seconds and soften fast, which quick dishes need.
How you’ll know: A slice bends a little when you hold it by one edge, and slow, steady cuts beat fast ones.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
Break the rice into bite-size chunks and it in a big bowl with the chicken, onions, herbs and dressing.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Scatter the peanuts on top and eat right away, scooped into lettuce leaves.
Dolly’s tip: The crunch fades as it sits in dressing. For lunch, pack the crispy rice in its own container and toss it in at the last minute.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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