Crispy rice salad with sambal peanut sauce

Name: Crispy rice salad with sambal peanut sauce
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 2 cups cooked, cold jasmine rice; 1 cup tempeh, diced into 1cm pieces; 2 tbsp red curry paste; 3 tbsp cooking oil; ½ tsp turmeric powder; 1 tbsp salt

Rosheen Kaul

March 18, 2025

Peanut butter saves time when making the sauce for this crispy rice salad.Armelle Habib; STYLING: Lee Blaylock

Time:30 mins - 1 hourServes:4

This crunchfest is the lovechild of Lao nam khao and Indonesian gado gado. I’ve borrowed the creamy sauce and some of the crisp vegetables of the Indonesian salad gado gado and combined them with the crispy rice of nam khao. Traditionally, you’d roast and use whole peanuts, but the cheeky shortcut of peanut butter is fine. Omit the shrimp paste and check that there’s none in the red curry paste if you’re cooking for vegetarians.

Ingredients

Crispy rice and tempeh (makes 2 cups)

2 cups cooked, cold jasmine rice
1 cup tempeh, diced into 1cm pieces
2 tbsp red curry paste
3 tbsp cooking oil
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp salt

Sambal peanut sauce

1 tbsp cooking oil
1 small shallot, finely chopped
2 long red chillies, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp shrimp paste, optional
⅔ cup smooth peanut butter
3 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
4 tsp tamarind paste
salt to taste
lime juice to taste, optional

To assemble

1 punnet baby cucumbers, sliced into rounds
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, diced
1 small shallot, finely sliced
½ bunch coriander, finely sliced
2 eggs, boiled for 6 minutes and halved
crispy shallots and crushed peanuts to finish

Method

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced (180C conventional). Line one or two oven trays with baking paper.
Step 2
To make the crispy rice and tempeh, add the rice to a mixing bowl and use your fingers to break apart the lumps. Add the curry paste, salt, turmeric and oil to the rice, and pop on some disposable gloves to thoroughly coat the grains without breaking them. Add the diced tempeh and mix well to combine, then spread in a single layer over one or two oven trays lined with baking paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning once or until the rice and tempeh are crisp and golden. Set aside to cool, then break into small pieces.
Step 3
To make the sambal peanut sauce, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, then add the shallot, chillies, garlic and shrimp paste, if using. Stir-fry over medium heat until fragrant and the shallot has softened, 5-6 minutes. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor, along with the peanut butter, kecap manis, tamarind paste and ¼ cup of water. Pulse, then slowly add another ¼ cup of water, or until it’s a smooth, pourable consistency. Season with salt and a little lime juice, or more kecap manis if you like, then set aside. This sauce will keep in the fridge for up to five days and you can use leftovers for all manner of dishes.
Step 4
To assemble, combine the crispy rice and tempeh in a large bowl with the sliced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, shallot and about ¼ of a cup of the peanut sauce. Mix thoroughly, then add the coriander and divide between four bowls. Garnish each with ½ an egg, crispy shallots, crushed peanuts and more peanut sauce, if you like.