Asian Wheat Berry Salad
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This Asian Wheat Berry Salad recipe features a vibrant rainbow of colors and textures, and is absolutely delicious! A perfect make-ahead salad, it tastes even better the next day and is perfect for leftovers and take-along lunches!
I know what you may be thinking. “Wheat berries. Ummm. Boring.” But I’m telling you what, it’s anything but boring – it is downright delicious! Really, you just need to try it. Change the name if it makes it more appealing to you. Pretend it’s rice. Heck, pretend it’s chocolate. Whatever it takes to make you try it. Because once you do, you will be very pleasantly surprised. This Asian Wheat Berry Salad is so tasty, even my daughter at age two devoured it when I made it a few years ago for the first time. Now if a picky toddler likes this salad, so you will you!
This is the third recipe now that I’ve experimented with using wheat berries. The first one was my Mega Healthy Wheat Berry Salad and the second was my Mexican Wheat Berry Salad with Chipotles and Toasted Walnuts. Both were so good that I wanted to experiment making a wheat berry salad with an Asian flair.
That was a such a hit in our family that I next proceeded to make a Greek Wheat Berry Salad.
It was another hit!
Why I Love this Asian Wheat Berry Salad
- It’s healthy. Wheat berries are whole grains and are an excellent source of dietary fiber, B vitamins, and protein. This wheat berry salad is also packed with an array of nutrient-rich veggies.
- A small serving of this salad leaves you feeling satisfied (ie, a great diet food if you’re trying to shed a few pounds).
- It tastes awesome! And that’s important, because no matter how healthy something is, if it doesn’t taste good forget it. This wheat berry salad is not only visually beautiful with a vibrant rainbow of colors and has a great interplay of textures, it’s also thoroughly delicious.
Here’s the proof of that last claim: Several years ago when I developed this recipe I sat down with my first serving of it to have for lunch. A minute later my then two year old daughter climbed up next to me, asked for a bite, and before I knew it she commandeered the entire bowl!
Asian Wheat Berry Salad Recipe
Let’s get started!
There are two basic kinds of wheat berries: Hard and Soft. You’ll need soft wheat berries for this recipe which can be a little more challenging to find. Whereas I’ve been able to find hard wheat berries in the bulk sections of some large grocery stores, I’ve only found soft wheat berries at health food stores. If you have a hard time finding them locally you can buy them online for a good price. This particular brand is non-GMO, non-irradiated, is Certified Kosher Parve, and these wheat berries can be sprouted.
To prepare the wheat berries, let them soak overnight. Then drain and rinse. Bring 4 cups of water to boil in a small pot. Add the salt and the wheat berries. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the wheat berries are soft but still have some “bite.” The time will vary depending on the age of your wheat berries and whether you fermented them (see below) but plan on 20-30 minutes. Drain. Set aside and let cool a little.
NOTE: I like to ferment my grains before cooking with them (more easily digested, the vitamins/minerals are more bio-available, and the phytic acid is neutralized). To ferment the wheat berries simply soak them in water (make sure they are completely submerged under water) at room temperature for 2-3 days until the water fizzes when you jiggle the bowl. Then drain and rinse and proceed with cooking the wheat berries (they will cook faster having soaked this long).
Prep your veggies. Cut/chop/slice/julienne them according to your preference.
Next make the dressing. You’ll need hoisin sauce for this. You can find it in any Asian grocery store. If not, you can buy it here online. If you have time, for the absolute BEST flavor results we recommend making your own hoisin sauce. Check out our recipe for authentic homemade Hoisin Sauce!
Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Place the cooked wheat berries in a large mixing bowl with all the veggies. The wheat berries can still be warm, but not hot.
Pour that delicious dressing over it and stir to combine.
The longer it sits the better it will taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving or overnight.
This salad can be served cold but we enjoy it best served at room temperature.
Enjoy!
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Asian Wheat Berry Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw soft wheat berries (can substitute grain of choice, e.g. quinoa, spelt, millet, sorghum, etc)
- 3/4 cup julienned carrots
- 3/4 cup shredded red cabbage
- 3/4 cup finely chopped celery
- 1/2 cup sliced green onions
- 1/3 cup chopped water chestnuts
- For the vinaigrette:
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- Homemade Hoisin Sauce (click for recipe)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- To prepare the wheat berries, let them soak overnight. Then drain and rinse. Bring 4 cups of water to boil in a small pot. Add the salt and the wheat berries. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the wheat berries are soft but still have some "bite." The time will vary depending on the age of your wheat berries and whether you fermented them (see below) but plan on 20-30 minutes. Drain. Set aside and let cool a little.See NOTE about fermentation.
- Combine all the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Place all the vegetables and cooked wheat berries in a large mixing bowl (the wheat berries can be warm but not hot). Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and stir to combine. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving or overnight. Can be served cold but we like it best at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
First published on The Daring Gourmet January 5, 2015
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Your wheatberry salad has become my go to salad. It is my favorite grain salad and I make it all the time. Sometimes I sprout the berries, sometimes I add red peppers. I don’t use the olive oil and only 1 tsp sesame oil. I upped the hoisen, soy and vinegar to 3 TBSP and use 1 TBSP of honey. Breakfast, lunch or dinner this salad is always a good choice.
Thank you so much, Jodi, I’m thrilled that it’s become a regular! <3
I love the texture of this salad! I mixed in some pulled pork and liked it. Next time I may add some grated ginger. The flavor of the dressing was good but a little mellow.
This is a Low Heat way to cook Wheat
Berries. It helps Prevent Allergies and Increases Vitamins content:
1st Put your hard wheat berries in a bowl. Fill with water, swish around to clean. Bad ones will float to the top. Pour off the the bad berries with the rinse water. Refill with fresh water & soak them overnight. Save the overnight water to drink, as it is healthy, (there’s a name for it, but I’ve forgotten what it is)
Put the soaked wheat berries in a plastic colander and rinse every now & then during the day, till they start to sprout (sprouting will Highly increase their vitamin value!)
Once they start showing a little bump from sprouting, put them in a thermos and cover with At Least Twice as much “BOILING” water. Screw on the lid & let sit for 8 hours or overnight. Now they are ready to eat, as is, or use in recipes.
Wheat Allergies are caused by high heat methods of cooking Wheat. Yes this takes longer, but Highly increases and preserves the vitamin content & helps prevent Allergies.
Absolutely A++!! I’ve made quite a few wheat berry salad recipes in my day but this is the most flavorful and the BEST I’ve had, thank you!
Thanks so much, Natalie!
I just finished making this salad. I added a bit more of the veggies and added bell pepper because I wanted to use it up. I snagged a taste before it had an opportunity to marinate for an hour or two and am excited about eating it for tomorrow’s lunch. When transferring it to a storage dish there was a lot of juice left in the bottom of bowl and I tossed it and am wondering if I should have kept it for absorption purposes. Time will tell
I used hard Wheatberry and it was great, as
Kimberly mentioned it just cooked longer.
Side note: I am an insulin dependent diabetic
and the Asian Wheatberry Salad did not negatively
Impact my blood sugar. Awesome all round
Discovery.
Both my wife and I loved the Asian Wheat Berry Salad. Awesome blend of flavors and lots of crunch. Easy to make and delivers a winning result. Highly recommend this recipe. I added some Organic Hemp Seed Hearts to bump up the protein even more.
Fantastic, Earl, I’m so glad to hear that, thank you!
I added peanut butter to the dressing. Yummy!