How to host a Friday Night Buddha Bowl dinner.
June 5, 2015 3:19 AM Subscribe
Ever since I first read about Friday Night Meatballs I've been trying to work out what regular meal would suit our mostly vegetarian friendship group. I've decided on Buddha Bowls / Bibimbap. What delicious (healthy and otherwise) food combinations and sauces can you suggest?
My standard bowl is usually lentils with sauerkraut / other fermented vegetables, grated carrot, sliced mushrooms and other vegetables that are lurking in the fridge, feta cheese, maybe an egg (poached, boiled or fried) and roasted seeds and nuts to top.
Seasonal combinations would be great, meat add-ins are also ok. We live in Upper Austria so the range of ingredients is somewhat limited - for example, Kim Chi is available, but there is rarely bok choi. There are lots of pork products, but bacon as is understood by the rest of the world is very difficult to find.
I'm happy to spend a couple of hours preparing ingredients before people arrive, but would prefer to limit cooking when people are here to frying eggs / sausage / tempura.
Dessert will probably be cake / fruit. As this is Austria there will be obligatory whipped cream.
Also, any suggestions for how to make this run smoothly (every other week)? I already have a rice cooker / slow cooker.
My standard bowl is usually lentils with sauerkraut / other fermented vegetables, grated carrot, sliced mushrooms and other vegetables that are lurking in the fridge, feta cheese, maybe an egg (poached, boiled or fried) and roasted seeds and nuts to top.
Seasonal combinations would be great, meat add-ins are also ok. We live in Upper Austria so the range of ingredients is somewhat limited - for example, Kim Chi is available, but there is rarely bok choi. There are lots of pork products, but bacon as is understood by the rest of the world is very difficult to find.
I'm happy to spend a couple of hours preparing ingredients before people arrive, but would prefer to limit cooking when people are here to frying eggs / sausage / tempura.
Dessert will probably be cake / fruit. As this is Austria there will be obligatory whipped cream.
Also, any suggestions for how to make this run smoothly (every other week)? I already have a rice cooker / slow cooker.
Food52 recently did a great post on general ideas for "bowls" - you might find some inspiration there. The post is based on a book called Bowl + Spoon, which I can't personally vouch for but I will say that I love the author's blog and it looks like the idea behind the book might be right up your alley.
The blog My New Roots also has a great series of "Abundance Bowls" based on the seasons (here is early summer). This could be a fun theme to do sometimes, to just find all the best local produce for the bowl of the week. While the specific produce available to her might not be what's best where you are, I really like the general idea behind this and it would be easy to adapt.
Logistically, I would choose a general theme for each week (i.e. bibimbap, the best June produce, French flavors, purple foods, California vegetarian bowl, Middle Eastern, etc. etc.) and then set out relevant ingredients on a counter or table for your guests to build their own bowls. This helps with picky eaters, as people can just skip an item if it's not to their taste (and vegetarians can leave the meat). And, I think it's both less work for you and helps people get involved/talking.
In terms of ingredient "prep", I think I would aim for the following, plus adding in anything else that looks/sounds good and fits with the other flavors...
--1 whole grain
--1 legume or bean
--1 or more raw veggies
--1 or more cooked veggies (roasted, steamed, sauteed, etc.)
--1 vegetarian protein (possibly with a meat option for meat-eaters)
--1 sauce (or more, if you want to do a creamy sauce and a spicy sauce, which can be fun)
--1 or more fun toppings to sprinkle (i.e. nuts, seeds, cheese, pickled things, etc.)
I do these bowls quite frequently, and prep for 2 people typically takes me about 20-30 minutes. Obviously chopping veggies for a larger group will take a little longer, but I definitely think you can get it accomplished without a ton of effort, unless you want to go the extra mile and make your own kimchi or something. :)
posted by rainbowbrite at 6:53 AM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
The blog My New Roots also has a great series of "Abundance Bowls" based on the seasons (here is early summer). This could be a fun theme to do sometimes, to just find all the best local produce for the bowl of the week. While the specific produce available to her might not be what's best where you are, I really like the general idea behind this and it would be easy to adapt.
Logistically, I would choose a general theme for each week (i.e. bibimbap, the best June produce, French flavors, purple foods, California vegetarian bowl, Middle Eastern, etc. etc.) and then set out relevant ingredients on a counter or table for your guests to build their own bowls. This helps with picky eaters, as people can just skip an item if it's not to their taste (and vegetarians can leave the meat). And, I think it's both less work for you and helps people get involved/talking.
In terms of ingredient "prep", I think I would aim for the following, plus adding in anything else that looks/sounds good and fits with the other flavors...
--1 whole grain
--1 legume or bean
--1 or more raw veggies
--1 or more cooked veggies (roasted, steamed, sauteed, etc.)
--1 vegetarian protein (possibly with a meat option for meat-eaters)
--1 sauce (or more, if you want to do a creamy sauce and a spicy sauce, which can be fun)
--1 or more fun toppings to sprinkle (i.e. nuts, seeds, cheese, pickled things, etc.)
I do these bowls quite frequently, and prep for 2 people typically takes me about 20-30 minutes. Obviously chopping veggies for a larger group will take a little longer, but I definitely think you can get it accomplished without a ton of effort, unless you want to go the extra mile and make your own kimchi or something. :)
posted by rainbowbrite at 6:53 AM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
-CILANTRO CREMA: clean and destem and entire bunch of cilantro. throw into a blender or food processor with queso fresco, lime juice, and sour cream. it makes a bright green, zippy, citrusy, creamy sauce that's addictive.
-DIY PICKLED JALAPEÑOS: slice jalapeños into paper thin slices and place them in a clean jar. in a small saucepan, throw a couple slightly-smashed cloves of garlic and any whole/solid spices you have (i use allspice berries, bay leaf, various peppercorns, and cloves. careful with the allspice it's very powerful, you only need a few berries).
pour white vinegar over the spices and heat until it JUST boils. pour the hot vinegar over the jalapeños in the jar and refrigerate until cold. lasts for about 2 weeks in the fridge, since it's not canned but just a quick pickle.
this doesn't really work with other vinegars - my lazy don't-wanna-go-to-the-store ass has tried, and they're all too funky. it DOES work to quick-pickle other vegetables - try thin carrot coins, scallions, cauliflower, etc
-LIME-PICKLED RED ONIONS: thinly slice red onions, cover with lime juice in a jar or small tupperware. it will take a lot of limes, heads up. this sounds too easy to be incredible as they are but omg. pairs really well with fatty pork like cochinita pibil or carnitas, but good on literally anything.
-PRESERVED LEMONS: In the post she talks about how a cook she took a class from "purées her preserved lemons — lemons, salt and juice — and uses spoonfuls of the purée in her dishes" and this sounds like an amazing thing to have on your table.
-HARISSA: either homemade or storebought.
I think you should definitely make your events BYOB to make things easier on yourself!
posted by Juliet Banana at 7:28 AM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
-DIY PICKLED JALAPEÑOS: slice jalapeños into paper thin slices and place them in a clean jar. in a small saucepan, throw a couple slightly-smashed cloves of garlic and any whole/solid spices you have (i use allspice berries, bay leaf, various peppercorns, and cloves. careful with the allspice it's very powerful, you only need a few berries).
pour white vinegar over the spices and heat until it JUST boils. pour the hot vinegar over the jalapeños in the jar and refrigerate until cold. lasts for about 2 weeks in the fridge, since it's not canned but just a quick pickle.
this doesn't really work with other vinegars - my lazy don't-wanna-go-to-the-store ass has tried, and they're all too funky. it DOES work to quick-pickle other vegetables - try thin carrot coins, scallions, cauliflower, etc
-LIME-PICKLED RED ONIONS: thinly slice red onions, cover with lime juice in a jar or small tupperware. it will take a lot of limes, heads up. this sounds too easy to be incredible as they are but omg. pairs really well with fatty pork like cochinita pibil or carnitas, but good on literally anything.
-PRESERVED LEMONS: In the post she talks about how a cook she took a class from "purées her preserved lemons — lemons, salt and juice — and uses spoonfuls of the purée in her dishes" and this sounds like an amazing thing to have on your table.
-HARISSA: either homemade or storebought.
I think you should definitely make your events BYOB to make things easier on yourself!
posted by Juliet Banana at 7:28 AM on June 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Real Simple magazine had some great "health bowl" recipes a few months back. I've made the tuna health bowl and it was really great!
posted by stripesandplaid at 12:47 PM on June 8, 2015
posted by stripesandplaid at 12:47 PM on June 8, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
- Carrots: jullienned
- Cucumber: jullienned or thinly sliced, seasoned with a little bit of sesame oil (just barely coat it), salt and sesame seeds
- Spinach: Sautee, remove as much liquid as you can, season with sesame oil, salt and sesame seeds
- Zucchini/Courgette: jullinned, sautteed with a bit of oil and salt
- Omelette: beat some eggs, cook a VERY thin layer in a pan, flip over (kind of like a crepe). Take off heat and let it cool. Roll it up and slice it so you get ribbons.
- Mushrooms: Slice thinly, sautee with oil and season with salt and thinly sliced green onions.
- For the carnivores, you can easily make some beef bulgogi or pork bulgogi
- Gochujang: This is a must have for bibimbap
Place all these things in a bunch of bowls and let people mix and match what they want on top of a bowl of rice.
The great thing about bibimbap is that it's still good cold, even the meat, so you can make everything ahead.
posted by like_neon at 6:19 AM on June 5, 2015