A Rice Bowl with Spicy Tahini Chicken, Stir-fried Mushroom and Asparagus, and Marinated Carrots

It isn't clear how it began.  But I'm totally calling it genetic, as my sister is seriously awesome at it as well. For as long as I can remember, my sister and I have been quite skilled at eye-rolling.  That ever-so-mature response when something or someone annoys you.  

This response has many triggers, one of which is recipes touting super special "secret" ingredients.  Like the avocado in that brownie.  Or the kale in that smoothie.

And now I'm rolling my eyes at myself.  Because I am here to explain the secret ingredient of rice bowls. And noodle bowls, for that matter.

The secret is the bowl.  It doesn't matter what bowl it is. It just has to be a bowl. 

Lets all be honest.  Rice and noodle bowls are pretty trendy. But I would argue, that they are trendy for good reason. If the content of these bowls were served on plates, and called "here is a plate of noodles with stuff" or "here is a plate of rice with stuff," I'm pretty sure none of us would get excited about it. We would all be like, "Oh, isn't this basically like going to a buffet and placing heaping piles of random stuff all on one plate."

And we would all be basically correct.

I am still working on gathering evidence for my theory, but I'm pretty sure that bowls have invisible tiny fans scattering delicious invisible taste enhancing seasonings over the contents of the bowl. It will take me some time to figure out how to test this. Science is not my strong suit.

But somehow piling seemingly random concoctions in a bowl makes total sense.  Here, zingy carrots, with stir-fried asparagus and mushrooms, and the earthiness from the tahini chicken, sprinkled with some parsley and scallions and a drizzle of sesame oil, all work together.  I may be rolling my eyes at myself, but at least I am enjoying a yummy dinner while doing so.

Ingredients
For the carrots:
1 cup julienned carrots
2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons walnut oil
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

For the stir fry:
1 bunch asparagus, woody ends removed, chopped
1 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
minced jalapeno, to taste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon honey

For the tahini chicken:
1/2 pound chicken breast tenders
canola oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup tahini
1 tablespoon Greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoon Sambal Oelek chile paste
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice

cooked rice (I made 2 rice cups in the rice cooker)
chopped scallions
chopped parsley
lime wedge
sesame oil

Instructions
To make the carrots:  Place carrots in small bowl.  Whisk the oils and vinegar together, and pour over the carrots.  I like doing this ahead of time.

To make the stir-fry:  In a small bowl, stir soy sauce, oyster sauce, and honey.  Heat canola oil in wok or saute pan on high.  Add asparagus and mushrooms.  Cook for 2 minutes, and add the ginger, garlic, and jalapeno.  Turn heat to medium-low.  Once the garlic has cooked, add the soy sauce mixture.  

To make the chicken:  Sprinkle salt and pepper liberally on both sides of the chicken.  Heat canola oil in a skillet on high.  Get each side nice and brown (about 3 minutes each side).  Turn heat to low to finish cooking (if needed).  Stir together tahini, yogurt, chile paste, honey, soy sauce, and lime juice.  Chop the chicken, and toss with the tahini mixture.

To assemble the rice bowl:  Scoop some rice into a bowl.  Place a few scoops of the stir fry on top of one section of the rice.  Place some tahini chicken on another section.  Place the carrots on top.  Scatter chopped scallions and parsley on top.  Drizzle the whole thing with sesame oil.

Tags:Rice Bowl,Spicy Tahini Chicken,Stir-fried,Mushroom,Asparagus,Marinated,Carrots

Vegetable Seekh Kebab with Green Chutney

he word "Kebab" has always fascinated me. I don't know... just the sound of it is so sophisticated and exotic that whether you have ever even seen it or not, you want to try it when you hear it... and believe me you will love it when you do :) But sadly for me they have always been synonymous with meat based preparations and being a vegetarian I just never could have any. Lately I came to know about veggie kebabs. I was elated by the thought that I could now eat kebabs and tried to recreate these beauties and it was exactly as I though it would be... exotic, elegant and heavenly tasting. These are perfect appetizers for get-togethers and pot lucks. Super easy to make and your guests will definitely go WOW when you serve these. 
You may find several recipes for kebabs if you look around but in my opinion this is an easy and no-fuss version that you will want to make over and over. Also, traditionally they are made in a tandoor or deep fried but I just shallow fry or broil them in the oven so they are very healthy too... lots of veggies and very little oil. As everything that goes in it is already cooked so very little oil is needed.
If you are making a large batch of the kebabs say for a big gathering, you can also bake them on a baking sheet. Just spray the sheet with cooking oil and broil them on high in your oven for 5-6 minutes on each side.
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Beetroot cutlets

utlets is a famous street food that is found almost all over India, with minor differences in ingredients here and there. It is often overshadowed by its close and notoriously famous cousin, the Samosa. I personally have always preferred these over the samosas. Whenever I think of them, I go back to my college days and to my college canteen, they served the meanest cutlets.. they were to die for.. yum! Hubby also remembers it as his favorite street food from his home town. An absolute favorite with everyone, they are very versatile too; serve them with some ketchup or chutney as an appetizer or for a change, stuff them inside a bun and it morphs into an amazing veg burger and a quick fix meal. You can also serve them as chaat with some chhole and chutney and enjoy the compliments. They can be made using different vegetables or whatever you have in your refrigerator (except I think the beets are a must, its a beet cutlet after all ;) Perfect for a rainy day they are addictive.

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Vegetarian Sushi

I had always heard a lot about Sushi. I had the impression that Sushi had raw fish (which by the way as far as I have seen is true for the most part) so never even thought of ever eating it. This one time, soon after we got married and I came to the US, hubby and I went to a wedding ceremony of one of his colleagues. Sadly they did not have much food. Only some light snacks and drinks. So after the ceremony on our way back we decided to get lunch. He said he knew a Thai-Japanese place that was pretty good. At the restaurant we saw they had vegetarian sushi on the menu. I got all excited about it and we ordered it. When it arrived, it looked really pretty. Got me even more excited to try it out. Hated it. I almost spit it out in my napkin. I kid you not. To my surprise thought, hubby seemed to like it. Well anyway that was end of Sushi for me for a very long time. Recently we went to another Thai restaurant where I got brave (you guys probably noticed by now I do get brave occasionally) and tried it again. This time I liked it a little better and figured may be if I made it using my own components, it would work for me. So went out and got all the ingredients with my choice of veggies and tried it at home. It was not the easiest thing I had done but following closely a few online videos and the package instructions of the sushi rice, it worked. To give credit where its due, let me tell you for the life of me, I could not roll and cut the sushi. So hubby was tasked to do it :) and he was a Man about it, no pun intended. Look at the pictures can't you tell :D

For a little general knowledge, if you are not aware of what Sushi is, here's a little excerpt from Wikipedia.
Sushi s a Japanese dish consisting of cooked vinegary rice which is commonly topped with other ingredients, such as fish or other seafood or put into rolls. There are different kinds as nigirzushi, sasimi, inarizushi etc. Sushi that is served rolled inside or around dried and pressed sheets of seaweed or nori is makizushi. Sushi is made with white, short-grained, Japanese rice mixed with a dressing made of vinegar and salt. The black seaweed wrappers are called nori. Nori is a type of algae, traditionally cultivated in the harbors of Japan.
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Meatless balls with spaghetti

After coming to the US, as I got more familiar with the local cuisine, I found that spaghetti and meat balls were a staple, especially with kids. I was always curious what they would be like, but being a vegetarian never tried them. Then one fine morning it struck me "how about making a vegetarian version of meat balls" or 'meat less balls '. The more I thought about it soy seemed a natural choice to replace the meat. I combine soy with vegetables and spices and baked them. They are fun, easy and taste just great. My little princess loves it :)

So here is my attempt at recreating the classic in its vegetarian version.

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