by Olivia Wong
It's easy to see why bowls are so popular. They're an explosion of flavors with endless ingredient combinations! To top it off, they can be very nutritious and for vegans such a welcome addition to their meal plans. You forget there's no meat here.
This picture doesn't look pretty. All the ingredients have been mixed together, but that's where the flavor pops. Everything blends so well together. It was my first attempt at creating an Asian bowl at home and it was so good I had to share it.
The thought of making a bowl at home was intimidating because there were so many ingredients and in this one many steps, but when under stay at home orders, what a great time to try AND it was so worth it! What helped speed up the process was making the seaweed salad ahead of time. It actually tastes better as a cold leftover and can be eaten alone so here's the seaweed salad recipe followed by the rest of the bowl.
For 2 servings:
Seaweed Salad Ingredients:
1 ounce dry mixed seaweed
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 scallion
1 carrot (shredded)
1/4 tsp. ginger (grated)
sesame seeds (as much as desired)
Seaweed Salad Directions:
1. Fill a medium to large size bowl with water and seaweed. It will expand a lot. Let it soften about 10 minutes.
2. Combine vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce and sugar in a bowl and whisk together.
3. Drain the seaweed and squeeze out excess water.
4. Return seaweed to the bowl. Add sauce, scallion, shredded carrot, grated ginger and sesame seeds. Toss well and refrigerate.
Bowl Ingredients:
1/4 cup brown rice
9 oz. firm tofu
teriyaki sauce
1 small Japanese yam (or a similar root vegetable)
handful Fullei Fresh clover sprouts
seaweed salad above
Bowl Directions:
1. Cook brown rice.
2. Drain tofu. Place on a cutting board with a paper towel over the tofu. Press down to remove excess water.
3. Cut tofu into 1/2 inch cubes.
4. Place tofu in an oven proof pan and pour a thin layer of teriyaki sauce over the tofu. Use just enough to lightly cover tofu. Too much and it will be too salty and not crispy. Carefully mix tofu so that all sides are coated with sauce.
5. Broil tofu until medium brown. Most of the sauce should have evaporated leaving crispy browned tofu.
6. Cut yam into 1 inch pieces. Boil until soft and drain.
7. Let yam, tofu and rice cool at least 10 minutes.
8. Toss brown rice, broiled tofu, boiled yam, seaweed salad and a handful of Fullei Fresh clover sprouts.
Feel free to add other ingredients like shelled edamame or soy sprouts. Enjoy!