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This was insanely delicious. Full of flavor, texture, color. The crunchy cool cucumbers complement the red curry spice perfectly. Hubs and I LOVE rice already, so had to try this dish and it was a hit!
Liz T
I Don’t Think I’ve Ever Loved a Salad As Much As I Love This Crispy Rice Salad.
Let’s discuss.
First of all, there’s papery thin vegetables (cucumber! shallot!) and a whole lot of herbs (mint! cilantro! add more, more, more!).
And secondly, there’s a beautiful pile of clumpy fried golden red curry jasmine rice – it’s crisped and golden on the outside, but soft and carby enough on the insides to still absorb some of the limey, garlicky, salty vinaigrette with all the flavor.
OOF I am drooling just thinking about it.
I can throw some crushed peanuts at this thing and be fully and absolutely happy without any other protein. But if you are the kind of person who wants to get some bonus protein up in the mix (you know what I’m going to say!) I’d recommend the air fryer chicken (crispy version too!) or the air fryer salmon here. We’ve done both; they’re both great.
This salad is a riff on Nam Khao which is a Laotian appetizer-style salad where the rice is fried into balls with fermented sausage, broken apart, and then eaten on a platter with lettuce cups. I tried a version of this at Hai Hai about a year ago and honestly have been thinking about trying to make it ever since. It was SO good. Then (it was fate!) Molly Yeh recently posted a video about making crispy rice in the air fryer! Genius. And this is how we ended up here, with a brand new salad obsession just in time for Summer 2024.
I love this salad (truly, one of my favorites) and I hope you do too!
Welcome To My Home! Let’s Make Crispy Rice Salad.
1
Prep Your Dressing and Herbs.
Blitz up the dressing, and chop up the salad stuff. I like to use a mandoline for the cucumbers and shallots.
2
Mix The Rice with Curry Paste.
Mix the rice with a bit of oil and red curry paste. For the air fryer, I like to have the texture being sticky / wet enough that you can kind of squeeze it into loose chunks. If the rice is dried out / several days leftover, I will add a tablespoon or two of water and maybe even a bit of cornstarch to the mix to help it revive a bit.
3
Clump Your Rice Into the Air Fryer.
Yes, clump it. Just place sticky handfuls of the rice in the air fryer in a single layer. They don’t have to be balls, but you also don’t want each individual grain of rice to be separated. Just kinda clump it in there.
4
Air Fry the Rice!
I do it at 420 for about 8 minutes till it’s nice and golden brown and crispy around the edges! (If you don’t have an air fryer, there are other options in the notes.) See how it kind of makes clusters? When it’s done, scoop chunks of the rice onto your salad bowl! It’ll look like this:
(In this photo I’m making a salad for just me for lunch, which is why there’s still rice left in the air fryer! Serving size: 1.)
5
Toss It Up!
Toss the veggies and rice with the dressing.
6
You’re done! YUM!
Seriously. This might be my favorite salad I’ve ever made.
Watch How To Make This Crispy Rice Salad
Crispy Rice Salad with Cucumbers and Herbs
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 generous salad servings (but extra dressing to make it again) 1x
Description
Paper-thin veggies, a shower of herbs, a pile of fried crispy red curry rice, and a limey garlicky vinaigrette all over top. This crispy rice salad is all I want to eat right now!
Ingredients
The Very Excellent Dressing:
- a 1/2-inch knob of fresh ginger, or a spoonful of ginger paste (note 1)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons avocado oil, or another neutral oil
- 1/4 cup lime juice (3-4 small limes)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon chili crisp (more for spicier)
Crispy Rice Salad:
- 2 cups cooked jasmine rice (note 2)
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 2 teaspoons red curry paste
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch (optional)
- half an English cucumber, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced or minced (about 1/4 cup)
- 1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 bunch mint, roughly chopped or torn (about 1/4 cup)
- 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
- chili crisp to taste
Instructions
- Dressing: Blitz everything up in a blender or food processor to make this SUPER yummy, punchy sauce.
- Crispy Rice: Toss the rice in a bowl with the oil and curry paste. If it’s not sticking together when you squeeze it, add the cornstarch and get your hands wet to mix it again (this happens if the rice is pre-cooked or several days old). Squeeze it into loose, squishy chunks and transfer to the air fryer in a single layer. Air fry at 400 for 7-9 minutes, until golden and crisped. (See Note 3 for alternative methods – I find the air fryer to be fastest and most convenient!)
- You’re Done! Yum! Break the crispy rice apart into little golden, delightful chunks. Toss with about half of the dressing and however many veggies you want. Garnish it with some peanuts and chili crisp if you want. I mean, honestly. Wow. This is so good.
Notes
Note 1 on Ginger: I don’t grate it or mince it because I just toss it in the the blender with the rest of the sauce ingredients. I’ve also used lemongrass paste here and it’s delicious!
Note 2 on Cooking the Rice: Most crispy rice recipes call for day-old cooked rice. Maybe I’m just lazy, but honestly, I have not found this to be necessary. I cook the rice in the Instant Pot with this method – for this I do 2 cups of rinsed jasmine rice to 2 1/2 cups water, cooked for 3 minutes at high pressure and rested for a 15 minute natural pressure release. I often just make this, fry up a batch for the same-day salad, and then keep the rest in the fridge for another salad later in the week.
Note 3a on Oven Method: If you don’t have an air fryer, I would recommend “frying” the rice in the oven. Bake it at 425 degrees for about 8-10 minutes near the top of the oven (closer to the heating element). It’ll get crispy on the outside, but stay chewy on the inside.
Note 3b on Skillet Frying: You can fry this rice in oil in a skillet, but it’s not my favorite because a) it’s messy, and b) it requires your rice to be much drier to begin with in order to get it crisped up. You’ll want to use day-old rice, and then fry it in about 1/4 cup of neutral oil until it’s golden and crispy. Some recipes even recommend drying the rice out in the oven to ensure that the rice is dry enough to fry well, which, for me, is a dealbreaker. Too many steps. LOL. Another consideration: your finished rice will likely be more oily than the other two methods so you may find that you don’t need as much of the dressing.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: Laoatian-Inspired
Keywords: rice salad, crispy rice salad, crispy rice, salad recipe
Frequently Asked Questions For This Crispy Rice Salad!
Yes. Coat the rice with the curry paste and oil, layer it in clumps on a baking sheet, and bake at 425 for 15 minutes on a rack towards the top of the oven. It’ll get a dried, crisped exterior but the inside of the clumps will be chewy and soft. Delicious.
I tested this with brown rice and yes, it worked well! It just needed a bit of the cornstarch (noted in the instructions of the recipe card) to help it to stick together nicely.
Yes – but in our testing, it definitely didn’t clump as much and it came out more as individual crispy grains vs. those crispy sticky clumps I love so much.
Not really. This is one that they’re not crazy about so they get all the parts of the salad deconstructed! Peanuts, cucumbers, some mint leaves for sampling, and – their favorite – plain jasmine rice. 🙂 
It’s best to store everything separately and crisp up the rice just before serving. That said, I’ve kept it this way for some make-ahead lunches and the rice texture gets a bit more chewy in the fridge but I didn’t hate it. In fact, I still very much loved it. 
The traditional Lao salad (nam khao tod) is a bit spicy as it often has both roasted and fresh chiles. But this version of a crispy rice salad is pretty mild – and if you want it to be more spicy, you can add more chili crisp or throw some chiles in the mix. My 5-year old-eats this and enjoys it!
Crispy rice salad is delicious with shrimp, salmon, or chicken. Pulled chunks of rotisserie chicken is an easy go-to in our house. We also rely heavily on the air fryer chicken and air fryer salmon for a moment like this! We have an air fryer tofu recipe that is SO good, but I’m not sure it’s the right fit for this recipe just because it has more of a “fried” texture that feels like it would compete with the rice. I don’t know. If you’re veg, you can try it and let me know. 🙂
The only thing in the salad that is not vegetarian is the fish sauce and (sometimes) the curry paste. I use Thai Kitchen red curry paste which is naturally vegan. For a fish sauce sub, you could try making your own fish sauce. Soy sauce or coconut aminos would also be a possible sub – it wouldn’t have the same flavor but would work in a similar way as the salty part of the dressing. You may need to dilute the dressing a bit if it’s too strong, depending on your specific soy sauce.
Yes, this recipe is gluten-free. You may want to confirm that your jasmine rice is certified gluten-free as there can be cross-contact contamination, and you may want to also check the label on the fish sauce and the curry paste just to confirm that these are gluten-free as it can vary from brand to bran. But all the other ingredients in the salad are naturally gluten-free.
This is one of my favorite recipes. I found it several years ago before the crispy rice salad craze stormed social media. I made it for myself one night, thinking the kids and husband wouldn’t like it- but to my surprise, everyone LOVED it. The dressing is heaven-sent and has the perfect combo of salty/sour/funky/sweet. So complex and delicious. I really, really can’t say enough good things about this one.
Can you tell me where you got your slicer from?
Crazy good!
I’ve already left a 5 star rating for this but had to come back and leave another for my 3 year old… she tried the sauce and asked for it in a bowl and drank it like soup because it is just soooo dang good. I’ll be making this all summer! We love it with salmon.
Love that so much!
Hi there, this looks soooo good! I cannot wait to make it for me and my hub. Im trying to watch my calories at the moment and noticed your recipe card states that the recipe makes two servings but the nutrition facts state nutrition for 4 servings. Can you please clarify if the recipe should be divided four ways for thr nutrition facts to be correct or if that was perhaps a typo? Thank you in advance!
Loved this recipe! Quick q: the amount of servings list 2 but the serving nutritional info lists 4. Is the nutritional info correct?
Best Salad ever!! Thank you so much for the recipe.
I love the dressing and the freshness of it.
This is insanely good. Also I realized from your Hai Hai mention you’re in the Twin Cities. Cheers!
I use fish sauce fairly often in stir-fries, but 1/4 cup of fish sauce in a dressing was far too much for my liking. I tried a few drops on some of the cucumber and some lettuce just to try it in advance, and the smell and taste made me gag. I had to discard it and make up a different asian dressing.
Still, the crispy rice was a nice addition that I’ll use in future salads.
This dressing was indeed insane, SO delicious.
Is it two cups dry rice, cooked – or two cooked cups of rice? I noted your recipe in note 2, but it still is not quite clear…thank you!
Hi Sarah! 2 cups cooked rice for the salad. The note is just how Lindsay makes rice, so this would yield extra than what recipe calls for.
This is incredible. I cannot stop making it! Note that my rice usually takes about 20 min in the oven.
I’ve been so excited to try this as it just looks so fresh and tasty- and it was with some modifications! I found the 1/4 of fish sauce way overpowering for the dressing as did my husband so we had to scrap the first batch and start over. I only used a little bit of fish sauce and supplemented with more avocado oil and added a bit of sesame oil. The crispy rice was delish mixed with the veggies and sauce and we added shrimp for protein. We also added shredded carrots to the mix of veggies. The outcome was delish! Loved the fresh herbs.
This was ok but needed tweaks. Glad I added a protein because it would’ve been boring without. Added carrots and crispy jalapenos. The “very excellent dressing” is not so excellent. Way too much fish sauce. It took a lot of doctoring to salvage the dressing and make it edible.
Here to say this is an incredible recipe that we are now fully addicted to. Only recommendation is to double the recipe because its that good. We have eaten it with several proteins but actually love it with the air fryer tofu – I make that first and keep it warm in the oven, and make a little extra dressing to toss the tofu in before adding it to the salad.
Made this salad this week – wow, so delicious. I know I’ll be craving it till I make it again.
One question – do you think you could use the dressing as a marinade? For chicken or something?? I absolutely love it, and wonder if I could easily take it into grilling season…
The dressing would make an excellent marinade! Let us know if you give it a try!
Oh yes! I love that idea!
If true love were a salad, it would be this one. So many magical flavors bursting in my mouth. I’ve made this so much, taken it to a sick friend, and still can’t get enough. Whenever my son or husband sees a cucumber in the fridge, they get excited–hoping it’s for this salad!
Hit me up if anyone needs a “no fish” fish sauce recipe–I’ve used it forever for Pad Thai and it works great in this recipe too!
I realize I am late to the party, but this recipe was fantastic and everything I was craving today. The only thing I added was a little sesame oil to the rice prior to crisping (1/2 avo 1/2 sesame) and some cubed up mango with the veggies for a little sweetness. DIVINE! I will definitely be making this again. Thank you 🙂
Omg this was even better than I expected. I made it vegetarian by mixing equal parts vegan Worcestershire and sesame oil instead of the ¼ cup of fish sauce. Will definitely be making this all spring and summer!!
Thanks for this recipe. I made a crispy rice salad last from an Insta account and the flavours were great, but it called for the rice to be cooked for 35mins at 400 degrees. I feared for my teeth lol. I’ll try your air fryer method next.
I have been obsessed with this meal for WEEKS!! It’s so quick and easy and mind-bogglingly delicious. I add tofu for extra protein and finely chopped spinach to bulk it up. It’s probably one of my favorite recipes EVER.
Wonderful recipe! I made this alongside a viral recipe that was similar on Instagram and this one won hands down for delicious from our family!
Celiac house – lovely to make hearty flavourful foods!
Thank you!
The most amazing salad (if not meal) I have ever had! It is on a weekly rotation for us. I am obsessed!!
Incredible! Another flavor and texture bomb! Unlike anything I’ve had before but very delicious and I often have the ingredients on hand. Thanks Lindsay!
We love Love LOVE this salad!! It’s so delicious! I made it last week to take to a sick friend and have the ingreds in my fridge to make again. It took a few times to get the amounts right and the rice crispy but nobody minded the extra tries. They were still delicious! I even bought a mandolin slicer just to make this crazy yummy salad!