Start with cooking the brown rice first. Add ½ cup of brown rice and 1 cup of water to a pan and heat to a boil, cover with a lid and reduce the heat. The rice will need about 30 minutes to cook.
While the rice is cooking start the quinoa. Rinse ¼ cup of quinoa well with cold water. Drain and then cover with ½ cup of water. Heat to a boil, then reduce heat and boil for 10-15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.
Mix together the brown rice and quinoa and place into the refrigerator to cool.
While the other items are cooking you can also cook the noodles. Follow the directions on package of your noodles. When ready, drain and rinse with cold or cool water. After rinsing, place into refrigerator to cool them more quickly until you are ready to pack up for travel.
Prep and blanch snow peas
Trim the ends of the snow peas and cut the longer ones in half on a bias. Heat salted water to boil on top of stove. When boiling, add the snow peas and cook 1 minute. Remove immediately and plunge into ice cold water. When cool, cut the snow peas in half on a bias.
Prep fresh veggies
Slice red bell pepper into ¼” strips and then cut strips in half. Julienne the spinach or kale you are using in the salad into thin strips. Cut cherry or grape tomatoes in half.
Layer salads into jar
In a medium-large jar, layer the ingredients for the noodle salad. Split up all the veggies evenly between the four jars.
Start with placing 1 cup of noodles in the bottom of each jar. Then comes the snow peas, red bell pepper, green onion, cabbage, tomatoes, sprouts, cabbage and last the spinach or kale.
For the other jars, start with brown rice and quinoa mixture topped with soy beans, snow peas, red bell pepper, green onion, tomatoes, cabbage and finish with the spinach or kale.
Make dressings
Place all the ingredients for the Carrot Ginger Miso Dressing in a blender and process until smooth. Then repeat the same procedure for the Spicy Peanut Sauce. You will likely need to add water to each dressing to thin them out. I make suggestions but you can add more or less depending on the desired consistency you prefer.
Split up each dressing into two containers. When ready to eat, simply add the dressing to the container or jar and shake to mix.
Notes
Tips for BEST results:Allow all cooked ingredients to cool fully before placing into the jars with other ingredients for transport. If time is an issue here are a couple ideas to speed up the cooling process.
Transfer items to a shallow dish such as a plate or baking tray and spread it out.
Leave uncovered during cooling time.
Place in the refrigerator or freezer until cool.
Eat your asian salad bowl prepared for transportation in a jar or container within 24-48 hours for maximum freshness.Allow the peanut dressing to warm up a bit at room temperature before adding it to your salad so it isn’t overly thick and clumpy.Give your salad a bit of flare by cutting veggies on a bias (angle).