Black rice with wilted red cabbage, colored peppers and anise seed

I love colourful food. From a scientific (and nerdy) perspective, your brain is attracted to bright colours, and it automatically stimulates the brain to be hungry. This is one of the theories explaining why many vegetables and foods have evolved to be brightly coloured. In addition, colours also say a lot about the mineral and vitamin content of food. No matter the reason, this is a spectacularly colored dish that is amazing. This is the dish that is the "Wow" factor on your table.

Most people are familiar with basmati and white rice, as well as sticky sushi rice and Jasmine rice. Additionally, there is paella rice, which includes bomba, carnaroli, and bahia rice. But this planet has 1000's of varieties of rice that are grown on every continent, except Antarctica. The world of rice also extends to black and red rice, which are nutritionally better for you and so much more delicious. Historically, rice is one of the oldest crops, over 10,000 years old, and was first cultivated in China. The Chola empire in India, from the 9th to the 13th century, was successful, in part, due to its agricultural expertise and ability to cultivate rice with over 300 varieties, which have been attributed to its breeding programs.

In reality, this is quite a simple salad to make. The earthy black rice serves as the base for this salad, complemented by the red cabbage, the flavours of coloured peppers, and the nuttiness of the cashew nuts, all drenched in a soy-mirin dressing. This is a hearty salad, but one that has wonderful, subtle flavours, and one you cannot stop eating.

This is probably my favourite Deborah Madison cookbook; I have almost all her fabulous cookbooks. Like this salad, the recipes are unique and full of flavours. I recommend any of her cookbooks, but this one stands out on my bookshelf.

For more delicious dishes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

1 cup black rice, or red or brown rice

6 cups of water

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons peanut oil, or olive oil

2 teaspoons anise seeds (saunf)

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups scallions, whites and greens sliced thinly

4 heaping cups of red cabbage, sliced thinly

1 red bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons mirin

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 generous cup cilantro, minced + more for garnish

Salt, to taste, careful, the soy also has lots of salt

1/2 cup roasted cashew nuts or peanuts

Cook the black rice in water with salt until done, but still retain a bite, about 20-25 minutes. Be careful not to make it too mushy.

Heat the oil in a wide wok and add the anise seeds. Sauté until lightly coloured, about 10 seconds. Add the garlic and scallions and sauté till the onions are wilted and the garlic is no longer raw, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the red cabbage, peppers, mirin, and soy sauce; cook until the vegetables have begun to wilt. You want the cabbage and peppers to be just cooked, but still maintain their crunch and texture. You do not want mushy vegetables. Please turn off the heat and add the cilantro, then toss the bowl to mix it in with the vegetables. The cilantro will cook and infuse the vegetables with its aroma in the residual heat.

To serve, add the black rice to the centre of a large flat bowl or plate. Add the vegetables to the side or on top, including any sauce that remains in the pan. Garnish with the cashew nuts and the cilantro. Serve either slightly warm or at room temperature.

Alternately, for a more straightforward presentation, toss the rice and vegetables together with the remaining dressing in the pan. Load into a bowl and garnish with the cashew nuts and cilantro. Serve at room temperature.