brown rice salad with bok choy, tomatoes and purslane

I made this quick brown rice salad in less than 30 minutes, which is about how long it takes to cook a cup of brown rice via stovetop. While the rice was simmering, I chopped up all the vegetables and drank a bloody mary (more on that later). I used local red and pink tomatoes from the farmer's market here in Park Slope, as well as organic baby bok choy and a little green called purslane. This leafy vegetable has been called a weed, an edible plant and a succulent that has more omega 3's than any other leafy green! Pretty impressive for a weed. I like it because it has a slight spicy kick and a juicy texture reminiscent of cactus. It's great simply eaten raw or sauteed like spinach. I brought this dish together with a bit of mirin, which is a sweet rice wine similar to sake but with a lower alcohol content. And a bit of ume plum vinegar, which is a potent, tart bright pink vinegar made from the pickling of umeboshi plums. I drizzle it on basically everything because it really livens up vegetables. It melds perfectly with mirin, brown rice and bok choy in this dish. 

recipe:

1 cup brown rice

2 cups water

1 medium sized tomato

3 small baby bok choys, chopped

handful of purslane

2 tablespoons mirin

1 tablespoon ume vinegar

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Add one cup brown rice (and a dash of salt) to two cups water in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes. Check occasionally to make sure rice isn't sticking to bottom of pot. Meanwhile, wash and chop tomatoes and bok choy. When rice is cooked, add vegetables, vinegars, sea salt, pepper and top with a handful of purslane. Can be eaten warm or cold.

Serves 2