3 Rice Bowl Recipes To Make Cooking Dinner Fast And Easy

Funny how working from home, under quarantine, we seem to have even less time than before for the all the things we'd like to do. Like taking the time to cook delicious meals for you and the family! But here's a workaround. On busy, busy working days, skip the complicated recipes and whip up some nutritious and delicious rice bowls instead. 

Rice bowls pack rice, meat and veggies in one convenient container that you can easily  enjoy, whether you’re sitting at the dinner table, standing at the kitchen counter, or in front of your computer. Chef Michelle Adrillana shows us how to pack on the flavor with minimal fuss in three creative rice bowl recipes.

You don't even have to cook rice from scratch. Start with leftover cooked rice, then feel free to add, omit or substitute meat or veggie toppings depending on what’s available in your pantry and how much time you have to whip up these dishes. May we just say: just don’t sacrifice the flavor!

Chorizo Brown Rice with Mushroom and Three-Bell Pepper Fry 

Packed with nutritious vegetables and fiber-rich brown rice, this is a colorful dish too, thanks to the yellow, red and green bell peppers, with the caraway seeds imparting a slight anise-like, nutty flavor and aroma. Just make sure not to overcook the bell peppers. To flavor the rice, longanisa works just as well as chorizo.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

100 grams chorizo, minced

2 teaspoons olive oil 

2 teaspoons minced garlic

4 cups steamed brown rice

1 1/2 tablespoons chicken stock

1 1/2 tablespoons butter 

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 tablespoon finely chopped spring onions

1. Allow chorizo to render its fat in a pan. 

2. Add olive oil. Sweat minced garlic until translucent. 

3. Add brown rice and mix well. Add chicken stock. 

4. Add butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add spring onions and mix well.  5. Transfer chorizo rice to a bowl. Top with mushroom and three-bell pepper fry (recipe below).

MUSHROOM AND THREE-BELL PEPPER FRY:

2 tablespoons olive oil 

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

1/2 cup fresh or dried shiitake mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons chicken stock

3/4 cup red, green, and yellow bell peppers, sliced

2 tablespoons butter 

salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat olive oil. Sweat garlic then caraway seeds. 

2. Add shiitake mushrooms and bell peppers and continue stir frying. 

3. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Pinakbet Rice with Kare-kareng Gulay

For lovers of kare-kare and pinakbet, this recipe is for you. A generous dose of bagoong  deepens the flavors of the dish. Chef Michelle suggests adding chicken bucheron, pork chicharon or bagnet on top for added crunch and character. You can blanch the vegetables ahead of time in order to quicken cooking time. If you don’t have time to cook the kare-kareng gulay separately, just add more veggies like string beans and eggplant to the pinakbet rice for a fully satisfying Pinoy rice meal.

Serves 4 

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil 

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped red onions

2 teaspoons minced garlic 

1 1/2 tablespoons minced ginger

1/4 cup diced tomatoes 

2 tablespoons hibe

2 tablespoons bagoong (shrimp paste)

6 tablespoons vinegar

1/4 cup diced pumpkin 

1/4 cup diced okra 

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 green chili fingers

4 cups steamed brown rice fish sauce, to taste 

150 grams deep-fried chicken skin or chicharon, for topping

1. Heat oil in a pan, sauté red onions and garlic. Add ginger and continue sautéing.

2.  Add tomatoes, hibe and bagoong. Add vinegar, bring to a simmer and reduce acidity. 

3. Add pumpkin and okra. Mix in sugar and green chili fingers.

4. Toss in cooked brown rice. Season with fish sauce if necessary. 

5. Transfer rice to a bowl. Top with chicken skin or chicharon. 

6. Serve with kare-kareng gulay (recipe below) and bagoong on the side.

KARE-KARENG GULAY: 

2 teaspoons vegetable oil  

1 1/2 tablespoons diced onions

2 teaspoons minced garlic 

2 1/2 tablespoons roasted glutinous rice flour

1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock 

7 tablespoons peanut butter fish sauce, to taste

2 tablespoons annatto oil

1/4 cup sliced eggplant

1/4 cup sliced banana heart, blanched

1/4 cup sliced string beans, blanched

1/4 cup bok choy, blanched

fish sauce, to taste

1. Heat vegetable oil in a pan. Sauté onions, then garlic. 

2. Add glutinous rice flour and continue sautéing. Mix well, then add stock and peanut butter. Bring to a simmer. 

3. Mix in annatto oil, eggplant, banana heart, string beans and bok choy. Season with fish sauce. 

Spicy Sesame Rice with Grilled Miso-glazed Cod 

This is a spicy take on a Japanese staple of fish and rice, so you can lessen or even omit the togarashi, a Japanese chili powder, if you prefer. Most of the Japanese ingredients can be ordered from any major supermarket or specialty Japanese deli. If you can’t find cod, you can substitute with grouper or snapper instead. And for a touch of green, why not top this rice bowl with blanched, shelled edamame? 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups steamed brown rice

corn oil, for sautéing

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped ginger 

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon togarashi (Japanese spice powder) 

salt, to taste

1/2 teaspoon hondashi 

2 teaspoons black and white sesame seeds 

1 stalk leek, chopped 

1. Heat corn oil in a pan. Add ginger and sauté. Add brown rice and continue cooking. 

2. Add sesame oil. Season with togarashi, salt and hondashi. Toss in black and white sesame seeds. Add chopped leeks.  

3. Transfer rice to a bowl. Top with miso-glazed cod (recipe below).

MISO-GLAZED COD: 

1/3 cup miso paste 

2 tablespoons chopped ginger

2 teaspoons sesame oil 

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic 

pepper, to taste 

2 tablespoons brown sugar 

1 1/2 tablespoons mirin

600 grams cod

1 stalk leek, sliced

1. Mix miso, ginger, sesame oil, garlic, pepper, sugar and mirin. Marinate cod in mixture. 

2. Preheat grill and brush with oil. Grill cod. Baste with marinade and cook until well done. Garnish with leeks. 

Recipes by Michelle Adrillano, Photography by Paul del Rosario, Styling by Nancy Dizon Edralin. FOOD Magazine, Issue 3, 2017