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Sesame Rice Bowl

This is my favorite meal. Period. If I was forced to eat just one meal for the rest of my life, this would be it. It is a recipe I originally learned from Steve Pavlina, and I have been making it at least once a week for the past year. This meal is so savory and satisfying, and it can be prepared in minutes with leftover brown rice.

On the surface, this looks a lot like the Everything Rice Salad Tacos I posted last month, but the flavors couldn’t be different. It goes to show that there are so many creative and delicious ways to prepare rice and veggies — a boring ol’ stir fry with unseasoned rice and mushy veggies has no place in any One Ingredient Chef’s kitchen! 🙂

Ultimate Rice Bowl

Makes 3 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cup (uncooked) brown rice
  • 1 large cucumber
  • 2 roma tomatoes
  • 9 sun-dried tomatoes
  • 3 green onions
  • 1 avocado
  • 3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
  • Toasted sesame oil to taste
  • Sesame seeds to taste
  • Black pepper to taste

Step One

Begin cooking the rice. Add 1 part rice to 2 parts water (1 1/2 cups of rice and 3 cups water) to a large pot and bring to a boil. Then cover and reduce to a simmer. Allow to cook for 35+ minutes until the water is absorbed and the rice is fluffy.

Step Two

Meanwhile, chop the cucumber, fresh tomatoes, dried tomatoes, avocado, and green onions. Also gather the sesame seeds, tamari, and sesame oil. Set all this aside and go take a break until the rice is finished cooking.

Step Three

When the rice is done, fluff with a fork and let it sit uncovered for a few minutes to cool, then divide it between three serving bowls. To put this rice bowl together, we’re going to toss the rice twice; first with all the seasonings, and then again with the veggies. This helps the rice absorb the flavors and prevents the veggies from becoming too mushy.

To each bowl, add a few dashes of sesame seeds, a tablespoon of tamari, and < 1 teaspoon of sesame oil (you don't need much, it's very powerful) and toss until the rice is thoroughly coated. Then, evenly divide the veggies between the bowls and gently toss again. Grind some black pepper over the top and serve. I dare you not to be happy after eating this meal. Optional: Sautéed tempeh goes great with this bowl. Simply dice the tempeh into small chunks and add to a saucepan with some tamari, rice vinegar, agave and hot sauce. Cook until the tempeh starts to brown and some of the sauce evaporates. Add to the top of your rice bowls just before serving.

Rice Bowl

15 Comments

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  1. Hi Andrew,

    Thank you for all your great recipes online! You’ve changed my life. Since eating one ingredient meals I’ve started to lose weight and started feeling a lot more energetic. Loved this dish, prepared it last night.

    • Wow, Marike! Congratulations, that so exciting. Thank you for letting me know – comments like that are why I do this and I’ll keep the recipes coming 🙂

    • Hmm, good question. I don’t think anything would work as well as rice, but you could probably use quinoa or even something like couscous – they would both probably have the right texture. Good luck!

  2. This is amazing! My whole family loved this when I made it earlier this week. We will definitely make it again. Perfect summer meal, too. Only dirtied one pan.

  3. Just made this for lunch at it is AWESOME! And so easy to make, too. I made it with this blend of organic quinoa, brown basmati, and wild rice that I picked up from Costco since that’s what I had on hand, and all of the different textures and depth of flavors were amazing. Definitely making this recipe a staple!

    • Awesome! In fact, your comment inspired me to make this again for lunch and it was delicious! Although, I’ve never had it with that amazing-sounding blend of grains… I’ve got to try that!

  4. I made this tonight and loved it. I can see why it is your favorite! The flavors were good but not overbearing, and the veggies are pretty much year round types. Thanks for sharing. I think this is a new favorite for me too.

    • Yes! I’m so glad you liked it, Danielle! Almost a year after posting this, I still make it almost once a week 🙂

  5. Made this tonight and it was amazing! I hadn’t realized I didn’t have any soy sauce until that step, and I used plum tomatoes instead of roma. So, I quickly caramelized some chopped onions with some sesame seeds in a lil veggie stock. BAM! Was amazing!

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