So Many Dishes

I love the idea of bowls. It’s a meal in one dish. We’ve been eating bowl meals for a long time: think soups and salads. But the current trend that combines veggies, proteins, a sauce over a base is popular for a reason. It’s a creative way to cook, with lots of options, and the results are usually delicious, nutritious, and nice to look at.

I bought America’s Test Kitchen’s Bowls cookbook last winter. We had met with the nutritionist who worked with the practice where Ken went for physical therapy, and I was looking for sources for either plant-based recipes or those that use a smaller amount of meat/poultry. Bowls seemed to be a good option. (Actually, what we learned from the exercise is that our diet was pretty healthy to begin with. The changes we tried didn’t seem to have any effect on Ken’s condition, and eating foods he enjoyed helped his mental outlook). But, although I saw lots of interesting recipes, the cookbook ended up on the shelf, unused.

Last week, though, as we were putting together our weekly menu, Ken suggested a bowl recipe that he found in The Chicken Bible, another ATK cookbook in our collection. It looked interesting, but we both had reservations about a couple of the ingredients. I grabbed Bowls, looking for an alternative, but found the same recipe with some suggested variations. Peanut soba noodle bowl went on the menu.

Except for soups, all of the recipes in Bowls are for two servings. Each is more of a guideline than anything else. This recipe listed alternatives to make it vegan, suggestions for varying the vegetables, even what to substitute for soba noodles. That last turned out to be important, since neither of the markets we visited had soba noodles. We used udon, instead.

The original recipe calls for making a peanut-sesame sauce and mixing some of it with the noodles as the base. The authors top the noodles with shredded cooked chicken, shredded red cabbage, fresh cilantro leaves, and chopped peanuts. We ditched the cabbage and replaced it with shredded carrots and cucumber slices. We also followed the family rule of “no nuts in food,” and skipped the peanuts. I had some chives in the fridge, so I chopped some to sprinkle on top. We drizzled more peanut-sesame sauce over top; that’s the real star of the dish. The recipe calls for serving the bowls with lime wedges, and we had limes, but I forgot. I think the lime juice would really kick it up a notch.

This was definitely a hit. We agreed that it’s a perfect summer meal. I poached and shredded a small chicken breast earlier in the day, and had the sauce made ahead, as well. It didn’t take long to cook the noodles and assemble the dish. I’m looking forward to making it again.

I’m including only the sauce recipe. As I said, what the book gave us was really just a guideline, and I’ve described it in my narrative. This is definitely a “make it your own” kind of dish. Meanwhile, the cookbook is going to spend less time on the shelf.

Peanut-Sesame Sauce

• 3 tablespoons peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, to taste

Process all ingredients in blender until smooth and mixture has consistency of heavy cream, about 1 minute. Adjust consistency with warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; add warm water as needed to loosen before using. Makes 2/3 cup.

Happy eating!