Haiku Salad

It’s Haiku Friday
Time for a Haiku Salad
Rice, salad leaves, beef!

Haiku Friday is a bit of an institution on the web, this Haiku salad is my tribute to all those people who Haiku on a Friday, or any other day for that matter. For anyone who has been living under a rock, a Haiku, is a poem, originating in Japan, which follows a certain pattern. A Haiku poem consists of 3 lines, the first and third lines contain 5 syllables, and the second line contains 7 syllables, like the one above.

So, with this in mind my Haiku Salad had to consist of 3 parts, two of which had to contain 5 ingredients each, and one part containing 7 ingredients. I also took into consideration that Haiku poems originated in Japan, and felt the Haiku Salad needed an Japanese twist, this I found with Sushi rice, which is a sticky rice, used for making sushi rolls.

The amounts listed will serve 4, adjust as necessary.

Part 1 – 5 ingredients: Sushi rice with spring (green) onion.

1. 1 cup of medium grained Japanese rice, once cooked this will increase to around 2 cups. Cook according to instructions on the packet or, if you use one, your steamer.
2. 3-4 tablespoons of Japanese Rice Vinegar.
3. 2 tablespoons of Sugar, use white sugar.
4. Salt to taste, approx. 1 teaspoon.
5. Spring (green) Onion, finely chopped.

While the rice is cooking, put the Japanese Rice Vinegar, sugar and salt into a pan and heat slowly so that the sugar and salt dissolve into the vinegar, but do not allow it to boil. Then leave away from the heat until needed. Once the rice is cooked, place in a bowl and add the vinegar seasoning, mix thoroughly as the rice is cooling, making sure all the grains are covered. Add a good handful of finely chopped spring (green) onions and mix well. Once the rice has cooled it is ready to use. Place the seasoned rice into a small round mould, I used a cookie cutter. Pack the rice quite firmly to make sure the mould is filled properly. It doesn’t need to be too deep, 2cm deep is adequate. Once the mould is packed with rice, remove it and you should be left with a perfect round of rice. Some rice or onion might fall away, but don’t worry, just remove these. Now you are ready for part 2.

Part 2 – 7 ingredients: Salad leaves and vegetables
This part is flexible, use a selection of whatever salad greens and vegetables you prefer, but remember to only use 7, and slice or chop them finely. It is also to best to use a selection of colours and textures, make it look nice and well as tasting nice I also like the contrast of crunchy vegetables with the soft sticky rice, here is what I used;
1. Red Pepper.
2. Grated carrot
3. Endive
4. White cabbage
5. Red Onion
6. Iceberg Lettuce
7. Red Cabbage

Arrange your selection of salad greens and vegetables on top of the rice, you don’t need too much just enough to make a good base for part 3.

Part 3 – 5 ingredients: Stir-fry beef

1. Frying steak, cut into thin, short strips
2. Half a cup of Soy Sauce
3. 1 tablespoon of honey
4. 1 clove of garlic, crushed
5. 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, crushed

Mix together the soy sauce, honey, garlic and ginger, pour over the strips of beef and leave to marinade for around one hour. Fry the beef in a hot wok for a minute or two, depending on how you like your beef, rare, medium, properly cooked etc. Place some strips of beef over the salad greens and vegetables, I used 5 pieces, per serving.

Hint: You may want to do part 3 first, and let the beef marinade do its job whilst the rice is cooking.

So there you have it
A perfect haiku salad
Try one for yourself!

Enjoy!

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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