Mac Salad With Two Scoops of Rice

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If you go to many local eateries, you’ll find the meals have a portion of meat, two scoops of rice, and macaroni salad. Many food trucks serve their plate lunches with a meat portion, two rice scoops, and a macaroni salad scoop. The macaroni salad is almost the same at eateries and food trucks, with minor variations in their ingredients.

Many stories point to the origins of the mac salad on-plat lunches, but almost all agree that it was cheaper to make and add to plate lunches with two scoops of rice. Some of the simplest mac salads I’ve tasted consisted of macaroni, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper. I’ve also had macaroni salads with potatoes added to the salad. You could add anything to the mac salad, also. I’ve had some with grated carrots. I don’t think you can go wrong with the mac salad recipe.

Origins

I read some articles that mention the mac salad came from the plantation days in Hawaii, while others say it came from European influence from European chefs. I’m unsure if I can pinpoint the mac salad origin, but many local plate lunches serve mac salads with their plate lunch. It’s easy to make.

Recipe

1. Boil the macaroni pasta until cooked.
2. Let the macaroni cool before adding the rest of the ingredients.

Ingredients

• Macaroni pasta
• Mayonnaise
• Grated carrots
• Salt
• Peper
• potatoes (diced, boiled until cooked)

Place it in the refrigerator to cool for several hours before serving it.

Final Thought

There are many variations of macaroni salad. You can add anything to the salad to your liking. The two side items on a plate lunch are mac salad and rice with the choice of meat. One of my favorite plate lunches is the boneless chicken with brown gravy plate at Rainbow Drive-In. It consists of breaded chicken with two scoops of rice with a scoop of macaroni salad. Order a plate lunch at many of the eateries, and you will get two scoops of rice and a scoop of macaroni salad.