If you’re looking for a delicious repeat product here, this is it. I make macro bowls that are featured in Joe Yonan’s encyclopedia Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking. In this book, he introduces Diana Yen’s Steamed Vegetable Macro Bowl. Nutty brown rice is topped with a rainbow of steamed vegetables and drizzled with an incredibly creamy miso-tahini sauce. Diana makes five-spice tempeh and finishes the bowl with furikake. Make the tofu and finish it off with whatever furikake you have on hand. Double or triple the dressing and you’ll be good for the rest of your life, or at least the rest of the week.
Macro Bowl: Inspiration
Mastering The Art of Plant-Based Cooking is a massive 484-page book. Joe Yonan has written a wonderfully comprehensive (and globally influenced) cookbook, including an all-star list of contributors. If you own just a dozen or so cookbooks and are interested in plants related to cooking, this book should be one of them. Over the past few months, I’ve spent a lot of time on it and continued to look for ways to get back into the macro bowl. I’m not familiar with macro bowls, but this one is special. I love Diana’s tahini miso finishing sauce here. So simple and so good! Add a five-spice wink to your protein ingredients – genius.
What is Macro Bowl?
Macro bowls are the ultimate feel-good food. They check the boxes next to important macronutrients like carbohydrates, fat, fiber, and protein in a single bowl. It’s also endlessly adaptable, making it perfect year-round.
Details: Brown rice
The basis of this macro bowl is high-quality, well-cooked brown rice. I like the method of boiling and draining water according to the recipe. It works beautifully every time. If you’re worried about cooking rice, give it a try. My favorite brown rice to use in these bowls is Koda Farm’s organic whole grain brown rice Kuroho Rose, Lundberg organic short grain brown rice, and Massa Organic medium grain brown rice.
Macro Bowl: Variations
Use what’s in season – For the bowls pictured here, I used seasonal vegetables like broccoli, delicata squash, and yellow kidney beans from the farmers market. For reference, it’s December here in California. Nowadays, there are bowls filled with cauliflower florets, small cabbages, beets, and carrot ribbons. In spring, asparagus and fava beans appear. If desired, cooking methods can be expanded beyond steaming. During the cold winter months, we may combine roasted ingredients (375°F tossed with a little olive oil) or combine roasting and steaming. For this bowl, I had roasted delicata on hand.
Recipe:
The recipe below reflects all the adjustments and personal preferences I have come to make. I always make double dressing, but sometimes more. As a result, leftover food and drizzle are more likely to occur. I also use tofu and give it a quick stir-fry in a pan while the steamer is heating up until it’s golden brown, then sprinkle the tofu generously with five spices once it’s done cooking. This is something I often keep on hand. And per my comment above, I grab whatever vegetables I have on hand in a rotating cast. Macro bowls are flexible, so have fun with them.
See more rice recipes
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