Creating a Buddha bowl is perfect for those times when you can’t be bothered cooking let alone following a recipe. It’s more like assembling small parts and creating a symphony.
There’s not always a fixed destination in mind. All I know is that my favourite tastes & textures end up in one place covered in delicious sauce.
Having a formula helps. Typically my bowls consist of:
a starch + steamed greens + raw greens + fermented greens + beans + sauce + sprinkle.
Plus or minus any of the above.
You can theme them, ie, make a Mexican bowl, but I’m all for whatever turns up.
And really, they don’t have to be complicated. For me simple veggies meeting sensational sauce is where it’s at.
Basic Buddha bowl formula
Start with the starch
This could be bulghur wheat, quinoa, steamed sweet potato, mash, noodles, brown rice or millet. I choose what cooks the fastest or whatever grain is leftover in the fridge. Treat yourself to easy prep by always cooking more than you need for tomorrow’s bowl.
The greens
A big bowl of steamed greens really lights me up so I go a bit crazy here – often combining big chunks of broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, kale, spinach. In it’s simplest form I’ll have bowls of steamed greens only, with lots of black pepper and lemon juice. Any or all of the above are usually present. Yum!
Raw greens
A bed of baby spinach leaves does this nicely. Pile the cooked grain or starch on top and it goes all wilty. Plus fresh salad leaves and/or coleslaw brings colour & texture. Think red cabbage, microgreens, sprouts.
The fermented greens
Feed the good gut guys with a spoon of sauerkraut or kimchi.
The beans
You know those people who live the longest? Turns out they eat mainly plants and eat lots of beans. Now this doesn’t always have to be chickpeas or beany beans – it can be strips of tamari seared organic tofu or tempeh. It could also be a blob of hummus or warmed up cumin spiced kidney beans. Do include them.
The sauce
My favourite layer. Here are some all time show stoppers.
Walnut sauce
Creamy ginger dressing
Quick satay sauce
Vegan sour cream & variations
The sprinkle
Here we add crunch or a spike of flavour. It could be as simple as fresh cracked pepper or toasted sesame seeds. Or more elaborate like cashew parmesan, dukkah, or toasted tamari pumpkin seeds.
That’s it! Go crazy and happy building beautiful bowls.
