"Sushi" Bowls

One of our favorite sushi places in college was a place called Rolls and Bowls. It was such a cool concept because you could either build your own sushi bowl or sushi roll with whatever meat/fish, veggies, and/or sauce you wanted. I used to eat here almost once a week and pretty much always got the sushi bowls because they were a lot more filling. I missed this place so much when moving away that it inspired me to create my own version of it so I could enjoy it whenever I wanted!

I love this recipe because it is so much easier than actually making sushi rolls and you can put as many toppings as you want without having to worry about it all fitting into a roll. Also, you can easily make this non-vegetarian by substituting the tofu for meat or you can make it both ways without having to make two different dishes!

Feeds 2-3 fans

The Players:

Sushi rice

• 1 cup of sushi rice*
• 2 cups of water
• 1.5 tsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp of sugar
• Pinch or two of salt (optional)

Marinade and extra sauce

• 6 tbs of soy sauce
• 6 tbs mushroom oyster sauce
• 1.5 tsp of chili oil
• 3 tsp of siracha
• 3 tbs schezwan sauce
• 1 garlic clove grated 
• 1 tsp grated ginger 
• 1 tbs vegetable oil for stir fry

Spicy mayo

• 3 tbs mayo
• 1/2 tbs siracha
• 1/4 tsp sesame oil

The toppings

• 1/2 a medium cucumber sliced into thin sticks
• 1 large carrot sliced into sticks
• 1 scallion sliced 
• 1 avocado cut into pieces
• 8 shiitake mushrooms de-stemmed and sliced
• 1/2 a small yellow or white onion diced
• 3 eggs scrambled (optional)
• 14 oz of firm or extra firm tofu drained and cut into small squares**
• Black sesame seeds to sprinkle on top (optional)

Chicken sushi bowl

The Game Plan:

Mix the first 5 ingredients of the marinade up in a medium bowl and place half of it in a large bowl. Add the ginger and garlic to the large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the tofu and combine gently without crumbling the tofu. Set aside. Then combine all the ingredients for the spicy mayo in a small bowl and place it in the refrigerator.

Tofu sushi bowl

Place the sushi rice and water in a medium sized pot and place it on medium hi heat and bring it to a boil. Once it is boiling bring the temperature down to medium low and let it simmer until the water evaporates. Do  not stir the rice until the end! Once the rice is done, check to make sure it is cooked through. If it is not, you can always add more water if needed. When the rice is done, fold in the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt with a wooden spoon. Do not over mix and cause the rice to become mushy and do not use a metal spoon to mix the rice because it will change the flavor of the rice.

While the rice is cooking, place 1 tbs of vegetable oil in a wok on medium heat and place marinated tofu in there. Let cook for about 5 mins. Stir and try flipping the tofu over so it cooks on both sides. Add the diced onions and cook for another 5 mins. Add the shiitake mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes stirring occasionally. If the mixture looks dry you can add more of the extra sauce you set aside.

Now you are ready to assemble your bowl. Place rice in the bowl first, then tofu mixture and then toppings. Top with spicy mayo and any additional sauce you desire. I usually make sure I have extra of the marinade so I can top it with that.

* To make this healthier you can make it with brown rice or quinoa. However when I do make it this way, I omit the rice vinegar and sugar.

**You can use any type of protein you like. I have used chicken before in place of the tofu and it was super yummy.

One Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken noodle soup is probably one of my most favorite soups! I was craving something warm and comforting and it was perfect with the weather being so cold and rainy. It completely satisfied my craving and it was super easy clean up because it only required one pot! I know some of the best tasting chicken noodle soups are made with homemade stock but honestly with my husband being vegetarian, and it being so time consuming, this definitely did not make sense for me. But in no way did this chicken noodle soup disappoint!

Serves 4 fans

The Players:

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 chicken tender or 1 chicken breast 
• 1 small onions diced 
• 1 carrot peeled and diced 
• 1 celery diced 
• 2 garlic cloves chopped small
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 springs of thyme, thyme leaves only 
• 1 quart of low sodium chicken stock
• 1/2 a chicken or veggie bouillon cube 
• 1 cup of wide egg noodles
• 3-4 tbs of finely chopped parsley
• Salt 
• Pepper

The Game Plan:

Place a medium sized pot on medium heat with olive oil in it. Meanwhile season the chicken with pepper on both sides. Place the chicken in the pot and cover. Let the chicken cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Once chicken is fully cooked take it out and let cool. Meanwhile place the carrots, celery, onions, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf in the pot and saute in the left over juices from the chicken for about 8-10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Meanwhile, shred the chicken with a fork and season with salt. Then add chicken stock and bring it to a simmer. Grate in the half bouillon cube. Add egg noodles and let cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until the noodles are cooked. Add in the chicken and parsley. Remove the bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Enjoy!

* The chicken was seasoned with salt after it had been cooked to keep the chicken as tender as possible.