Kick off the new year with this colourful Vegetarian Buddha Bowl! It's packed with delicious edamame, crispy tofu, seasoned bean curd, spicy kimchi, creamy avocado, sweet tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, garlic butter mushrooms and seasoned purple cabbage with a healthy base layer of delicious brown rice. If vegetarian is not your style, you can easily add extra protein such as fish, shrimp, chicken or beef to this bowl.
Rinse brown rice under cold water and add to the bowl of a rice cooker with salt, butter and water (if you don't have a rice cooker, follow rice package cooking instructions). Set to brown rice cook feature and allow rice to fully cook (approx. 45 minutes).
In a large skillet, on medium high heat, add butter and oil to pan. Add minced garlic and fry garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant but not browned. Add sliced mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Set aside in a bowl.
In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil on medium-high heat. Add cubed Tofu and fry for 4 minutes or until all sides are browned and crispy. Set aside on a plate with paper towel to absorb excess oil. In the same skillet with remaining oil, turn heat to high, add sliced purple cabbage with pinch of salt & pepper and cook cabbage for 5 minutes (continue to stir). Cabbage should be softened but still have some crunch.
Boil edamame beans according to package instructions (see notes for more information). Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Set aside. Cut english cucumber into quarters. Set aside. Cut avocados in half, remove pit, slice avocado in the shell and scoop with a large spoon to remove from shell. Set aside. Slice seasoned bean curds and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, add soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar and sesame oil. Stir until well combined and set aside. In a small mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise and sriracha sauce. Pour into a small plastic zippered bag. When ready to use, cut a small corner of the bag to drizzle over bowl.
To layer buddha bowl, add 1 cup cooked brown rice to a large bowl. Then add 1 to 2 tablespoons (or desired amount) of mushrooms, cabbage, cucumber tomatoes and edamame next to each other. Add 1/4 cup kimchi slices. Place 3 to 4 slices of avocado to one side of the bowl, on top of vegetables. Add a few fried tofu cubes into center and 2 tablespoons of sliced bean curd. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of furikake (rice seasoning) evenly over ingredients. Pour 2 tablespoons of soy dressing over ingredients and lastly drizzle sriracha mayonnaise to finish dressing the bowl. Repeat this step for remaining 3 bowls. Bon Appetit!
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Notes
What type of Brown Rice should I use? You can choose any type of brown rice you like. Be sure to follow the package's cooking instructions as cooking time varies depending on the type of grain you choose (long grain, short grain etc.). For this recipe, I chose a short grain brown rice. Typically 1 cup uncooked short grain rice yields about 3 cups cooked rice.What is firm tofu? Firm Tofu is soft Tofu that has been pressed to remove most of its water content. This gives it a stronger texture for better flavour absorption and its ability to hold together during the cooking process. It comes in a variety of flavours such as smoked, teriyaki, five spice or just regular (no flavour).What is japanese rice seasoning (Furikake)? Furikake (pronounced "Foo-ree-kah-kay" or "foo-dee-kah-kay") translated from japanese means "to sprinkle or shake over". Furikake comes in many varieties (usually bottled in a glass jar) found at your local asian grocery store. For this recipe, I used Katsuo Fumi which has a blend of ingredients such as bonito (smoked fish shavings), sesame seeds, sugar, salt, seaweed, soy sauce and cooking wine. A little sprinkle packs a lot of flavour onto rice.What if I can't find shelled Edamame beans? Edamame beans are sold as frozen shelled or unshelled beans. If you are unable to find the ready-to-eat shelled beans, you can buy the unshelled frozen edamame beans (the kind you normally eat at a sushi restaurant). Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and cook the edamame for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water and remove the beans from their pods. Set aside in a bowl until ready to use.What is seasoned fried bean curd (Inari)? Inari is seasoned deep fried tofu pockets. It tastes more sweet in flavour (usually marinated by simmering pockets with ingredients such as dashi stock, soy, mirin, sake and sugar) ). Typically these pockets are used at sushi restaurants to make Inari sushi. Rice is formed into a rectangular ball and stuffed into the bean curd pocket.