Healthy vegetable rice bowl

Today I will introduce you to a one pot meal!  It’s a healthy and delicious rice bowl with lots of vegetables and mushrooms. When the warm rice is mixed with spicy gochujang and a sweet, savory, onion-y seasoning sauce, you won’t believe how wonderful it is!

In the old days, white rice was very precious for Koreans, so to make it go further we would mix it with seasonal vegetables and cook together. There are hundreds of variations of this kind of rice and no strict rules but a lot of them use usual Korean vegetables like radish, soybean sprouts, sweet potato, mushrooms, and mountain vegetables. My grandmother used to make it all the time with sweet potato for our everyday lunch, and I always loved it!

This one I’m showing you today is something I made to use a few of my favorite vegetables and good and healthy kale. The textures and tastes go well together, it’s beautiful looking, and I eat it all the time. You can also veganize it without an egg, or add meat if you want.

We used to make this to save on rice, but these days people make it because it’s healthy, delicious, easy to make and is good for you! Enjoy the recipe!

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 2 cups rice (440 grams)
• 2 ounces kale (60 grams), tough stems removed, washed, drained, and chopped
• 8 ounces peeled Korean radish (or daikon, turnip), cut into matchsticks
• 8 ounces cleaned soybean sprouts
• 2 large king oyster mushrooms (about 6 ounces), sliced
• 4 sunny side up eggs (or over easy), optional
• gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste) and toasted sesame oil for serving, optional

For seasoning sauce (ganjang yangnyeomjang):

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons gochu-garu (Korean hot pepper flakes)
• 1 teaspoon sugar (or zero calorie natural sweetener such as Swerve)
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

Directions

Prepare the rice:

1. Put the rice in a heavy pot and cover with cold water. Tilt the pot and slowly pour out the water, taking care not to pour out any rice. Swish the wet rice around in the pot with one hand, then fill the pot with cold water again, swish, and drain. Do this a few more times, changing the water each time, until the water runs clear. Drain as much water as you can. The rice will still be wet.
2. Add 1½ cups water to the rice. Place the chopped kale over the rice and spread it evenly. Then add the radish and soy bean sprouts, and mushrooms. Cover and let it sit for at least 30 minutes so that the rice will be soaked.

Meanwhile make seasoning sauce:

1. Combine the soy sauce, hot pepper flakes, sugar (or Swerve), green onion, garlic, sesame seeds, and toasted sesame oil in a small bowl. Gently mix them well with a spoon. Cover and set aside.

Time to cook:

1. Cook the pot over medium high heat for about 7 to 8 minutes.
2. Uncover and stir the rice, vegetables, and the mushrooms with a rice scoop or a wooden spoon to make sure that none is sticking to the bottom of the pot.
3. Add ¼ cup water and turn over the rice well. Cover and turn down the heat to low. Simmer for 7 to 8 minutes.
4. Uncover the rice and test for doneness. Take a small bite (be careful not to burn your tongue!); the rice should be soft. If it is still slightly crunchy, cover and steam for a couple of minutes more until it is fully cooked.

Serve and eat:

1. Gently fluff the rice with a rice scoop and divide the rice into 4 portions and put each portion into individual bowls. Add the sunny side up eggs if used. Serve right away with the seasoning sauce, hot pepper paste (gochujang), and extra sesame oil.
2. Add some seasoning sauce, hot pepper paste and toasted sesame oil according to your taste and mix them well with a spoon and eat. Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for up to 1 week.

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