Tropical Island Rice

This Tropical Island Rice dish is full of delicious ingredients and packed with different flavors and textures. A must make for a tropical-themed event!

Course Salads

Cuisine Tropical

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Chilling Time 1 15

Total Time 2 5

Servings

Calories 357kcal

Author Michelle Ordever

Ingredients

4 8.8 oz / 250g packages Uncle Ben's microwave long grain and wild rice
1 large ripe mango peeled, stoned and cut into small bite-size pieces
1 pomegranate arils/seeds removed
1 large can pineapple chunks or rings in juice, juice reserved *See Notes
1 large can sweetcorn/corn kernels *See Notes
2 bell peppers red, yellow or orange, deseeded and cut into small bite-size pieces
8 spring onions scallions, finely chopped
1 large red chilli deseeded if required, finely sliced
Large handful fresh flat-leaf parsley or coriander cilantro, finely chopped, optional
2 oz / 50g macadamia nuts chopped
2 oz / 50g pistachio nuts chopped
2 oz / 50g blanched slivered almonds chopped

For the Dressing

⅓ cup / 90ml peanut/groundnut oil
⅓ cup / 90ml light soy sauce
1½ cups / 350ml pineapple juice use from the canned pineapple and top up with fresh pineapple juice
2 Tbsp white rice vinegar

Instructions

Cook the rice according to the package instructions. Spread out onto a baking sheet to cool for 15 minutes before fluffing with a fork and transferring to a large bowl. Place in the refrigerator to cool completely for about 1 hour.
Add the mango and the pomegranate seeds to the bowl of rice and mix to combine.
Reserve the juice from the canned pineapple and chop the fruit into bite-size pieces. Add to the rice bowl and mix to combine.
Add the sweetcorn and stir again. You don't have to add all the ingredients in steps - I like to do it so that everything becomes really combined.
Add the chopped bell peppers, onion, chili, and fresh herbs if using to the bowl. Mix well.
Finally, add the chopped nuts to the bowl and stir to combine.
To make the dressing, pour all of the ingredients into a bowl or cup/jug and whisk together well.
Pour three-quarters of the dressing over the rice and other ingredients and mix well.
Cover and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for up to 24 hours. Place the remaining dressing in an airtight jar and place it in the fridge too.
Remove the Tropical Island Rice from the fridge about half an hour before serving to bring it to room temperature.
Shake the jar of dressing to recombine and pour over the rice. Mix together well.
Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Oh boy, can sizes in the UK and the US vary so much!
The size of the can that I used in my original recipe is no longer available, so I've specified large. This can be open to interpretation, so as a guide, you need approximately 1½ cups or about 340g chopped canned pineapple.
I used a large (in the UK at least!) 325g (260g drained weight) can of sweetcorn which is about 1 cup of corn kernels/niblets.

Nutrition