Hearty brown rice topped with spicy peanut tofu and colourful vegetables. Today, we’re chatting about a fan-favourite, the Spicy Tofu Buddha Bowl.
Why We Love Buddha Bowls
I love making buddha bowls because of how versatile they are. There are thousands of different combinations and no right or wrong way to create them. You simply start with a base of grains, brown rice or quinoa, and top with several small servings of various vegetables, seeds, nuts, vegetable proteins and a sauce or dressing. The bowl in the photo has a wide variety of veggies because I had just gone shopping. I often make rice bowls with what I have in the fridge at the time. A common one I make is rice, beans, corn, greens, salsa and guacamole. In fact, I’m eating it right now as I type this post! Shout out to my best friends Melissa and Jason for turning me on to this combination.
Pro Tip
Something I do that makes these bowls quick and easy is prepping the vegetables as soon as you buy them! Take 15 extra minutes when you get home from the store to slice, dice, peel or cube your veggies. If you have a food processor pull it out and use it to save time. When making lunches or at the end of the day when you’re hangry and don’t feel like cooking you’ll thank yourself for doing this.
Why Is It Called Buddha Bowl?
Now, why is it called a Buddha bowl? I’ve heard two reasons… The first being my favourite. The bowl, when overflowing with delicious goodness looks just like Buddha’s big round belly! The second, is Buddha, on his travels carried a bowl with him and would accept food as donations, which he would eat at the end of the day. Both stories are good, and the name is cute, so I’ll leave it up to you to decide. Hope you have as much fun making bowls as I do!
Tell Me About Your Bowl
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below or find me at @SusanCooksVegan on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook , Pinterest and Twitter. Share the combinations you use to create your Buddha Bowl.
More Bowl Recipes To Enjoy
If you enjoyed this Spicy Tofu Buddha Bowl, you may want to try making my:
- Sweet & Spicy Tofu Sushi Bowl
- Southwest Jackfruit Quinoa Bowl
- Curried Cauliflower Rice Bowl
- White Bean and Mushroom Bowl
Spicy Tofu Buddha Bowl
There are thousands of different combinations and no right or wrong way to create them.
- Yield: 2 bowls 1x
- Category: Bowls
Ingredients
Base:
- 2 cups of cooked whole grain brown rice
Tofu:
- 1 package of extra firm tofu
- 2 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup of smooth all-natural peanut butter
- 2 tbsp tamarin
- 2 tbsp hot water
- 2 tbsp of date paste or maple syrup
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp of Siracha
- Salt and pepper to taste
Toppings:
- ¼ cup of matchstick or shredded carrots
- 1 cucumber peeled into stripes and rolled into roses
- ½ watermelon radish sliced thinly
- 1 cup of wild mushrooms sautéed
- ½ cup of purple cabbage chopped
- 1 large jalapeno sliced
- Thai basil and black sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Wrap tofu in several sheets paper towels and place a heavy object on top of it. This removes some of the moisture.
- Let sit for 20 mins.
- Prep the toppings.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes. Place in a medium-sized bowl or plastic bag (if using the bag, wash and reuse). Toss in olive oil, corn starch, salt and pepper.
- Place on a baking tray and bake for 8-10 mins or until golden brown.
- In a medium-size bowl whisk together peanut butter, tamarin, hot water, sweetener, lemon juice and Siracha. Add tofu and stir until fully coated
- Place 1 cup of brown rice in each bowl. Add toppings, tofu, basil and sesame seeds to garnish
