Gluten Free Oriental Chicken & Wild Rice Summer Salad

This salad is surprisingly layered with flavors. When I first came across the recipe in this month's Slimming World magazine, I felt skeptical, but decided to give it a go anyway, with a few minor adjustments.

The best thing about this in terms of flavor is the sharp, soy-sauce based dressing. The best thing about it in terms of my waist is that it is free on Slimming World's Extra Easy plan.

The whole meal (rice & dressing) takes about half an hour to prepare, if you use pre-cooked chicken. Perfect as a light summer dinner or leftovers for a speedy lunch!

groceries...

You probably have all of these ingredients in your kitchen already!

For the dressing:
6tbsp light (reduced fat) soy sauce
1/4tsp Chinese Five Spice
Pinch of Very Lazy Ginger, chopped
1tsp Very Lazy Garlic
1/2tsp Very Lazy Red Chillies
1 sachet Truvia (no-calorie sugar sweetener)
zest and juice of 1 lime

For the salad:
1 cup basmati rice
1/2 cup wild rice
3 cups water
300g frozen Petits Pois
1 carrot, peeled and cut into rounds
50g cherry tomatoes, quartered
3 spring onions (scallions), chopped
2 cubes Dorot chopped coriander or 2tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro)
1tsp dried coriander
1tsp dried chives
400g cooked chicken
salt and pepper

alright, let's cook:

For the salad dressing, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir until incorporated. Taste and add a pinch of salt, if necessary. Set to one side while you prepare the salad.

For the salad, combine both types of rice into a saucepan. Cover with the water and cook on high until it begins to boil. Once it is boiling, reduce the heat by about half and simmer. Do not stir the rice until you see small holes form. Stir and add the chopped carrots and peas, leave to simmer until all the water has been absorbed. It should take about 3 to 5 minutes longer. Once the rice has been cooked completely (there should be no need to drain, and please, NEVER RINSE COOKED RICE!) transfer it to a large serving bowl. Add the tomatoes, spring onions, dried coriander, chives and chicken. Give it all a good stir, season well and dress.

nutrition...

Servings: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories:           263.4
Total Fat:          2.2g
Cholesterol:     70mg
Sodium:            1,000.3mg
Total Carbs:     36.1g
Dietary Fiber: 5.2g
Protein: 27.4g
Vitamin A:    146.7%
Vitamin C:    51.7%
Iron:    16.9%