asian style bowl

There has been definitely a stomach bug going on around here.  All the boyos have been complaining.  Usually, they are much too macho to say anything.  Men in their twenties and thirties.  What are you going to do?  Me?  I am making myself a lentil pumpkin soup and toast for dinner.  I am going to try dinner even though my breakfast did not settle well and I have not eaten since then.  My Beloved will just have to deal. 

What I really want is miso soup!  But the wonderful artisan miso I had is all gone.  It was purchased in Portland, OR and I have not found any here I like yet.  Maybe when I go to my Grandmother's funeral in a couple weeks on our way to Alaska, I will be able to pick up more.

And the miso I do have?  Not artisan and I have been using it in the Asian style bowls I have been making.  Local Milk wrote a post about a farro bowl with a miso vinaigrette.  It got me to thinking.  We do not eat farro here but we do eat rice.  And I did not have everything on my shelves that she did so substitutions took place.  

I would say the Asian bowls I made were a hit.  Rice, greens, egg, avocado, a vinaigrette.  The next time I left off the egg and add a piece of baked salmon.  As much as I love salmon, I think I liked the egg version better but I would not turn up my nose at either.  I have been asked to try something similar with noodles.  I have the buckwheat flour to make my own udon so it is a possibility. 

These bowls come together very quickly.  I have cooked rice in the freezer due to the kraut making (do not ask please) so I am not cooking rice currently but the time it takes to cook rice is more then enough time to put everything else together.  It can be much faster then going out!

asian style rice bowls

Note:  I rifted on Local Milk's recipe mostly because I did not have everything she did in my cupboard

Enough hot cooked rice for two people

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 of an onion, peeled and sliced

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced

a large handful amaranth or spinach greens, cleaned well and sliced 

1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground pepper, or to taste

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and cut into chunks

a bit of green onion or scallions sliced for garnish (it is a nice additional flavor)

Chose a protein:  2 soft boiled eggs, peeled and cut in half

                          salmon, roasted with salt and pepper until medium rare

For the vinaigrette:

2 teaspoons miso

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon olive, sesame, or olive oi

1 tablespoon agave

In a large skillet, wok, or cast iron porridge pot (yes, that is what that pot is.  It works like a small wok for me), heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion.  Let it start to get soft and start to get golden.

While the onion is cooking, mix all the vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl.

When the onion start to get some color, add the garlic.  Let the garlic and onion cook until some color is happening.  Add in the greens.  Amaranth takes longer to cook then spinach so keep stirring until the greens start to wilt and lose volume.  Pour 1/3 of the vinaigrette over the greens.  Let cook a bit until everything is hot and well mixed.  Take off the heat.

In two bowls, put the rice.  Add the greens.  Add avocado.  I chose not to have avocado and it worked well.

Add the protein of your choice.

Egg, salmon, something else.

Split the rest of the vinaigrette between the two bowls.  

So yummies.  I have made this twice since I started making these Asian bowls.  I need to make it again, even if noodles are not done.