Why TikTok’s Crispy Rice Salad Is Everywhere Right Now – A Chef’s Take
Culinary expert shares their take on TikTok’s latest viral food trend – ‘Crispy Rice Salad’
From cottage cheese to Dubai chocolate, TikTok has a history of turning simple ingredients into global sensations. The latest dish to captivate the “FoodTok” community is the Crispy Rice Salad, a vibrant, crunchy and incredibly tasty dish that breathes new life into leftover grains.
With over 1.1 million searches for ‘Crispy Rice Salad’ last week, and over 52 million views of content with the hashtag #CrispyRiceSalad, this latest food trend is majorly blowing up right now.
The trend, which found its roots in the traditional Laotian dish Nam Khao, involves seasoning cooked rice with aromatics such as soy sauce and chilli crisp before either baking or air-frying it to achieve a delicious golden crunch. Unlike traditional salads, the crispy rice acts like a crouton, providing a contrast to fresh cucumbers, edamame and creamy dressing.
Mimi Morley, Senior Recipe Development Manager at HelloFresh, the world’s leading food box provider, shares her take on the latest TikTok trend, “from a health perspective, it’s an absolute winner. It encourages the use of diverse vegetables and plant-based proteins, such as edamame. To keep it balanced, we recommend oven-baking or air-frying the rice with a light coating of sesame oil rather than deep-frying, which maintains the signature crisp texture without it feeling too oily.”
Mimi adds, “the magic of the crispy rice salad lies in the ‘umami-crunch’ texture. It solves the biggest complaint people tend to have about salads – that they aren’t filling or exciting. By roasting the rice, you create a complex toasted flavour that feels indulgent without the need to use any overly complicated ingredients.”
Mimi’s recipe for a ‘TikTok-ready’ crispy rice salad
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Ingredients
1 chicken breast + 1 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tbsp honey (optional)
250g cooked Jasmine rice (day-old is best)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp chilli crisp
1 diced cucumber
100g edamame beans
2 sliced spring onions
A handful of fresh mint and coriander
2 tbsp tahini
Juice of ½ a lime
1 tsp honey
1 tsp grated ginger
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (or air fryer to 190°C). Toss your rice with soy sauce, sesame oil, and chilli crisp. Spread thinly on a baking tray and roast for 20-25 minutes (or 8-10 mins in an air fryer) until golden.
- If adding chicken, heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. Chop your chicken into 2cm chunks. Add to the hot oil, season with salt and pepper and stir-fry until browned and cooked, through 8-10 mins. Once cooked, add the honey and soy sauce, stir to glaze and remove from the heat.
- While the rice (and optional chicken) cools, toss your cucumber, edamame, and herbs in a large bowl.
- For the dressing, whisk tahini, lime juice, honey, and ginger with a splash of hot water until you reach a creamy consistency.
- Add the crispy rice (and chicken, if using) to the bowl just before serving to ensure a maximum crunch. Drizzle with tahini dressing and enjoy!
Mimi concludes, “the beauty of this trend is its adaptability. While the crispy rice provides the base texture, the dish can support whatever you have in the fridge. For those looking for a more substantial lunch, adding honey-glazed chick breast adds a lean protein element that pairs perfectly with the zingy tahini dressing.”
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