Vegetable Rice Bowl

Hello Beaners! Jon and I decided to look into the healthiest diet in the world, and apparently it is the Japanese diet.  While we were inspired enough to think we could do a Japanese diet for at least a month, to see how we felt, we quickly realized various pitfalls, namely that we don’t eat seafood.  Nevertheless we decided to give it a try, and while I can’t say if our meal actually could be considered Japanese cuisine,  I will settle for saying that it was Japanese Inspired.

The day before I had made some veggie broth (see How To Section), which we mixed with vegetarian miso, and cooked with some fresh ginger, spring onions, and a bit of kim chi.  Once the broth had cooked for a bit, we added in our vegetables, allowed to cook, and served it over rice topped with sesame oil, sesame seeds and soy sauce.  It was good and a very comforting dish for a cold night.  You can really use whatever veggies you want, or use some udon noodles if  you prefer it over rice.

VEGETABLE RICE BOWL
Serves 3-4

1 litre Vegetable Broth
1 sachet of Miso Soup (we used Red)
1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
6 or 7 baby carrots, chopped
6 or 7 baby corn, chopped
4 Spring Onions
Romanesco Broccoli and Regular Broccoli- 2 cups worth of florrets
Handful of kale, chopped into ribbons
A good handful of mushrooms- flavourful ones such as shiitake, porcini etc
Bean Sprouts
Sesame Oil
Sesame Seeds
Soy Sauce
Kim Chi
Rice

Cook rice, set aside. Boil Broth and add packet of miso soup. If necessary, add some boiling water. Bring to a boil and add a bit of red chili, ginger, and a bunch of chopped spring onions. Let cook for a few minutes and start added the veggies. Throw in the broc and carrots first as they will take the longest to cook. Add in a bit of kim chi for flavour. Once the vegetables are cooked, give it a taste. Add whatever you think is missing- soy sauce, more kim chi, sesame oil etc. Serve over rice and drizzle with a bit of sesame oil. Garnish with sesame seeds.

P.S. Romanesco is a type of broccoli I got at the farmer’s market this weekend, it reminds me of a cross between broccoli and cauliflower.  The texture was sort of cauliflower-y and I decided that I loved it.  I will post a pic of it later.