Meatless Monday - Thai Spiced Coconut Rice with Ginger Peanut Sauce and Cashews

Sometimes it’s not always convenient to reheat leftovers so it’s nice to have something tasty that doesn’t need to be heated.  Yes, you can always make a sandwich or a green salad but that gets tired after a while.  I love variety in my meals.  Dishes that are great hot and cold help to provide some of that variety.  This dish is a perfect example.  So it’s something I might take with me to The Collective on my work day there, I don’t have to microwave it and if a customer comes in while I’m eating my lunch I don’t have to worry about it getting cold.  It would also be a great dish to take to a pot luck.

Of course this dish is also great when it’s fresh and hot so you’ll enjoy it the first night.

This is one of those dishes that is easy to make vegan but nobody will ever notice and might not even think about it being vegan.  The recipe calls for honey in the sauce but you could easily substitute agave syrup and it would be vegan.

Thai Spiced Coconut Rice with Ginger Peanut Sauce and Cashews

Ingredients:

For the Coconut Rice:

1½ cups dry jasmine rice
1 (15 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water

For the Ginger Peanut Sauce:
⅓ cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey or light agave syrup
3 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoon sesame oil
Water to thin
Lime wedges

For the Salad:
2 red bell peppers, finely chopped
1 red cabbage, shredded
1½ cups shredded carrots
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 cup cilantro, chopped
¾ cup green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup cashews, finely chopped

Directions:

In a medium-sized pot, mix together the rice, coconut milk, garlic, salt, and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once the pot reaches a rolling boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer covered for at least 30 minutes (longer if the rice is a longer cooking rice, check the package). After 30 minutes, turn off heat and let sit covered for another 10 minutes.

As you wait for the rice, make the peanut sauce by heating the peanut butter for 15 seconds in the microwave in a small microwave safe bowl, or until the peanut butter thins.  Add the honey or agave, ginger, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Stir well and thin with a little water if needed.

When the rice is done fluff it and combine it with the chopped vegetables and cashews (reserve a few whole cashews for garnish). Drizzle with a bit of the Ginger Peanut Sauce and taste-- you most likely will not need to use all of it. Serve with lime wedges.

If you have leftovers, stir the peanut sauce into them really well before storing in the refidgerator.

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