Summer Rice Bowls
Rice. It's seriously the one food group that has actually kept me alive for the past decade. I cannot even remember a day that has gone by where I haven't eaten it in some form or another. It could be for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. I'm definitely guilty of having it for more than one meal in a single day. Most commonly though (as in the past 10 years I have done this), I will steam a big bowl of rice in my rice cooker and eat it along side steamed veggies (preferably broccoli or cauliflower) doused in salt and extra virgin olive oil. I have still yet to grow tired of this combination.
It also doesn't matter if it's white rice, wild, brown, or otherwise. I have absolutely no prejudice towards rice varieties and welcome all kinds into my bowl. This also goes with ingredient pairings--there is seriously no limit as to what you can put on rice and how much flavor you can pack it with. I generally keep to steamed rice, and then add on a copious amount of ingredients and flavors. Fried egg, steamed egg, kimchi, fried garlic, seaweed, steamed veggies, hot sauce, sesame seeds, vinegars. I honestly could keep going but it would be boring, redundant and pretentious.
However I do hope I illustrated the point that you can literally put anything on rice--no matter what kind--and it would be fucking awesome. And I mean, you can choose to use 1 of the aforementioned items, or all of the above and I can promise that it would be amazing.
For a recent dinner I tried something different than my typical breakfast mentioned above, or something as familiar as fried rice, etc.
I love rice bowls because they really embody variety. By variety I mean a change-up in textures, flavors, sweet vs. sour, meat and veggies--really just striking a good balance between all of these fundamentals.
When building a rice bowl I generally like to stick to a few different criteria:
Protein -- anything from tofu, pork, seafood, etc.
Crunchy nut or seed
Cooked veggie
Pickles
Salty sauce
Herb
Egg (cooked however)
When choosing combinations, it's a taste-preference based thing. I like tofu with kimchi and a soft-boiled egg. But do whatever does it for you. The following recipe is a mere suggestion that I found tasted awesome. It's a dish that welcomes substitutes and creativity.
Squid | Seaweed | Soft-Boiled Egg Rice Bowl
Serves 2
2 large pasture-raised eggs
1 cup sushi rice, washed
1/2 cup dried seaweed (wakame or hijiki variety)
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
2 scallions, cut on the bias
1 lb squid, cleaned
1 avocado, thinly sliced
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 avocado
1/4 cup kimchi
1/4 cup cooking oil
For the dressing:
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
1/2 cup water
1 thai chili, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
Begin by starting the rice: either use the regular directions as followed by a rice cooker, or cook rice on the stove top. To cook rice on the stove top, bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add the rice and give a good stir. Reduce the heat to a simmer and place lid over top. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Turn off the heat after enough time has elapsed and let the rice continue to steam.
To clean the squid: remove the tentacles from the body first. In the center of the tentacles is a beak that must be removed before cooking. To remove, simply pinch it so it pops out from the squid. To clean the long body of the squid, use fingers to fish around for the plastic looking spine that is all along the inside lengthwise portion of the squid. Pull out in one motion and set aside.
Take the dried seaweed and rehydrate in a bowl of boiling water. Set aside until ready to use. When ready, drain and squeeze all of the moisture from the seaweed and set onto a paper towel to dry.
To soft-boil the egg: add 1" of water to a medium pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the two eggs and immediately place a lid on top. Set a timer for 6 minutes and let boil on medium-high heat. When timer is up, remove eggs from water and place in cold water. When cool to the touch, peel carefully and set aside.
To make the dressing: combine all of the ingredients in a jar and shake well to incorporate. Done!
Right before the rice is ready cook the squid. Heat a skillet with 1/4 cup cooking oil over high heat. Once the oil is hot and viscous, add the whole squid pieces and cook until slightly firm and the tentacles have curled up. Remove from heat and transfer into a bowl. Once cool enough to the touch, thinly slice the body of the squid, and leave the tentacles whole. Set aside.
To assemble the rice bowls: divide the rice between two large serving bowls. Add the whole soft-boiled egg in the center of the rice. Add the scallions on the one side of the eggs--you'll be gradually adding all of the ingredients around the egg so everything sits adjacent to one another. Repeat the step with the cooked squid, seaweed, peanuts, kimchi, and avocado. Finish the dish by adding sesame seeds all over the top and drizzling with the dressing mixture.
Bok Choy | Cabbage | Sesame Salad
serves 2-3
4 heads bok choy, cut into quarters lengthwise
1/2 red cabbage, thinly sliced or shredded
1 large spring onion, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 toasted sesame seed oil
chili flakes (optional)
salt, if needed
Fill a large enough pot to fit the bok choy with 2 inches of water. Season with salt and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the bok choy and cover with a lid. Let the veggies steam for about 2 minutes, just until wilted and tender. Drain and set aside.
In a large bowl add the cabbage and the bok choy. Dress directly with the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and seasoning. Mix thoroughly and let sit for 5 minutes or so, so everything properly marinates. Garnish with the spring onion and sesame seeds and serve!
