Asian Wheatberry Salad

I remember the first time I ate wheatberries. I was at a friends house for the weekend and her mother put them on the table. I had never seen them before, but being even a young adventurous foodie (I loved salad as a little kid) I was keen on trying this new dish. I instantly fell in love and came home telling my mom about this new grain we had to try and experiment with. Fast forward to college years and once again I am experimenting with ingredients such as the wheat kernel composed of the bran, germ, and endosperm aka Wheatberry. 

Back on the Asian flavor kick, I came up with this wheatberry salad. Originally I wanted to buy some soba noodles, but every time I go to the store they never seem to have. As an alternative I thought wheatberries would be a nice substitution as well as a good base to hold the dressing for the salad.

It's also an experiment of my new purchase on Ponzu sauce. I like to walk slowly down the store aisles and get an unusual excitement when grocery shopping- I tend to think my love of food, cooking, baking, and educating myself on food as a bit unhealthy (My recently watched category in my Netflix account is basically all food documentaries).

Whether served as a side or an entree this dish packs protein from the edamame as well as a nice flavoring from the sauce and is pretty quick to throw together.

Enjoy cold or warm- happy eating!

Servings: about 4

Ingredients:

2 Cups Shredded Carrots
2 Cups Shredded Red Cabbage
2 1/2 Cups of Shelled Edamame
1 Cup of Cooked Wheatberries
1/2 Cup Wasabi Peas
Scallions

Asian Style Sauce:
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Teaspoon of Toasted Sesame Oil
2 Teaspoons of Fresh Grated Ginger
2 Tablespoons of Ponzu Sauce
2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder


Directions:

Cook wheatberries according to packaging. (1 cup of wheatberries to 3 cups of water. Simmer with in pot with lid on for about 30 minutes.)

In a large mixing bowl combine the cabbage, carrots, scallions, and cooked edamame.

Once the wheatberries are done cooking add them to the mixing bowl.
Then pour the sauce over the salad and toss.
Garnish with wasabi peas and sesame seeds (optional).