Like many of you, I've been doing a lot of cooking throughout 4 months of sheltering in place and self-quarantining. This Buddha Bowl with Sesame Marinated Tofu is one of my best recipes from this time, although I'll be sharing a few more of my quarantine-cooking favorites. I just love how beautiful this one turned out and it was equally beautiful to eat...I literally couldn't stop. I'll give you a little background on how it came to be...
Summer veggies, herbs and edible flowers inspired me to make this Buddha Bowl using a base of RightRice, one of my favorite rice products to cook with. I somehow got it into my head to marinate tofu (I probably saw another recipe using it, which made me hungry...that's usually how I get motivated to cook things). All of my colorful finds came from my local farmer’s market in Union Square NYC.
A Buddha Bowl, simply explained, is a nourishing meal (usually vegan) with little bites of everything. And usually the more colorful it is, the more nutrients you’re getting. YAY to that! I started with a base of Cilantro Lime RightRice which is a genius blend of protein-packed rice made of 90% of veggies (lentils, chickpeas and peas) + rice. I like using it as the base of many of my creative dishes because it comes in a variety of already seasoned flavors, only takes 10-12 minutes to prepare, and has nearly 40% LESS net carbs and way less sodium compared to other flavored rice. It’s also non-GMO, vegan, gluten-free & kosher. So if you’re Flexitarian like me, add it to your shopping list! If you need a definition of Flexitarian, READ THIS.
I wanted this bowl to be colorful but you never really know what you’re going to find at the market so when you’re shopping for yours just know you have to leave it to chance. I lucked out getting purple radishes, mini heirloom tomatoes, sugar snap peas, edible flowers (I’m not sure of their exact name so if you recognize this variety, pls tell me in the comments below) and the freshest dill and cilantro that I’ve ever seen! I literally rushed home with these market gems, started playing and this was the result! RightRice laid the groundwork and my bowl grew from there.
Buddha Bowl Ingredients I used:
• 1 package of Cilantro Lime RightRice (avail at WholeFoods & on amazon) – follow my tutorial for easy cooking!
• 1 block of Medium Soft Tofu, marinated in a special mix (detailed below) for at least 2 hours
• Sesame Oil
• Black sesame seeds, sprinkled on tofu while grilling
• Sugar snap peas, lightly pan cooked w/ sesame oil
• Mini heirloom tomatoes, raw and halved
• Carrots, cut length-wise and sautéd with sesame oil until soft
• Fresh dill and cilantro leaves
• Purple radishes, raw and round cut
• Long green, thin scallions. Served raw.
• Edible flowers
⬇️ WATCH HOW TO MAKE RIGHTRICE ⬇️
These are my easy instructions for building this bowl or one that's similar. I won't be offended if you go in a different direction ;)
- Pick a RightRice variety. Original is a safe bet but I chose a seasoned variety (Cilantro Lime) because I wanted to match the flavor with the fresh cilantro I would be adding.
- Marinate your 4-5 oz package of medium soft tofu for anywhere between 2 hours to overnight using the following combination of ingredients: 1 tbsp of lime juice (or rice vinegar), 1.5 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1.5 tbsp maple syrup and 1 teaspoon of grated ginger.
- Prepare the RightRice using my tutorial video above to guide you. It'll take 10-12 minutes to cook.
- Prepare all your veggies. Wash, peel, slice, dice, and select the best flowers. The snap peas require that you pull off the back spine. It's like a little tab that opens up the snap pea. It takes a minute but you'll get the hang of it.
- While the RightRice is cooking, saute the veggies that you want to be softer like the carrots and snap peas. I used sesame oil, which made them extra delicious.
- Once it's ready, plate the rice and then cover with all your veggies in any design that fits your fancy.
- Heat up the grill with sesame oil for your tofu. Before placing on grill, remove tofu from marination and place on clean surface on which you'll sprinkgle each side with black sesame seeds (could also be white). When both sides are sufficiently covered, place the tofu on the grill.
- Grill each side of the tofu for anywhere between 4-5 minutes.
- Plate the tofu on top of your rice and veggie creation and admire what you've made!
- I recommend adding Crunchy Garlic Sauce for extra zing.
⬇️ WATCH ME MAKE A BUDDHA BOWL ⬇️
This article details my own recipe and experiences cooking. RightRice kindly sponsored this content as part of a wonderful partnership which I'm so happy to share with all of my readers since I love cooking with RightRice products. #Sponsored