Hello everyone! I hope your week has gone well. Today I am going to make this short. After dinner today I realized that I hadn’t yet posted on this very casual Asian rice bowls dish that I think is absolutely worth sharing, so here it is!

“Credit to Aunty Grace for showing us this dinner for the first time”

Before I start, I want to acknowledge the fact that this meal is very similar to the Korean bibimbap that I wrote about a couple weeks ago in that it’s more or less a culmination of a bunch of your favorite toppings. Let’s start with the protein: fish (salmon recommended), tofu, or chicken all work. The most important part is the marinade and the preparation after its cooked. Any of your favorite teriyaki brands will work for this, and it will serve you best if you cut up whatever protein you choose into small, bite sized cubes/mouthfuls. My mom usually cooks the protein on a pan because its quite fast that way. To be honest, as long as you’re eating a protein that you enjoy, you can’t really go wrong with this part. For toppings, we usually have fresh tomatoes, avocados, and a super casual version of pickled cucumbers. My mom makes the latter of these simply by combining white vinegar and sesame oil. It is worth noting that too much sesame oil can cause stomach problems, and as for the white vinegar, put an amount that reflects your preferred level of that flavor. If you want, grab furikake (a very common Asian topping including sesame seeds and nori (seaweed)), kimchi, and any other garnishes that you think would be fitting. Throw all the stuff onto a nice steaming bed of brown rice, and there you have it: Asian Bowls! Some of you may be thinking, “brown rice!? What!?” I guess all I have to say to that is that I thought the exact same thing, but you just have to try it first, because it works surprisingly well. I like the texture because it does a great job as absorbing all the flavors at the bottom. In addition, brown rice would be a great “mix up” for those of you who eat different varieties of the grain. To add on, brown rice contains more nutrients and vitamins than white rice, which is never bad.

So that’s it! Our so called, “Asian bowls”. It’s definitely not the hardest meal to make, and for the amount of prep, it certainly yields a delicious dinner that you’ll likely want again soon. Basic ingredients, brown rice, simple!

Stay safe and have a great week.

Nate