Black Rice & Lentil Thai Bowls with Cashew-Coconut Curry Sauce
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
You're going to need a big bowl to fit in all this goodness. It's easy to go overboard with different veggies and toppings, but I think I found a great combination for these Thai bowls. Not only are they vegan, but they're gluten-free too. The flavors of the sauce mingle beautifully with the steamed cauliflower, tofu and kale. The pepitas also add a nice extra crunch as well. Served warm or cold, these bowls are great to take to work for a filling, protein-packed lunch.
Author: Epicurean Vegan
Serves: 6
Ingredients
2-1/2 C vegetable broth
1 C black rice
1 C green lentils
1 head cauliflower
14-oz extra firm tofu, drained, pressed and cubed
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 carrots, grated
3 C kale, chopped
1 C green onion, sliced
½ C pepitas
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Cashew-Coconut Curry Sauce:
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1 C cashews, soaked in hot water for about an hour
2 cloves garlic
1 can coconut milk
1 Tbs fresh ginger, grated
2 Tbs peanut butter
Juice from one lime
1 Tbs curry powder
1 tsp salt
Directions
To begin, combine the rice, lentils and vegetable broth in a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Stir, reduce heat, and cover; cook for 40-45 minutes.
This will give you plenty of time to get everything else prepared: chop the veggies, saute the tofu and steam the cauliflower.
For the tofu, I just sauteed the cubes in a dry skillet until slightly browned.
Steam the cauliflower florets for about 8-10 minutes---not too much though because you want to avoid making the cauliflower too mushy (unless you like that sort of thing). I prefer them to have a little bit of crunch.
To make the sauce, toss the garlic cloves in a food processor and mince. Next, add all of the other sauce ingredients and puree for several minutes until completely smooth. Transfer to a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until it thickens just a little---only a couple of minutes.
Once the rice and lentils are done, fluff with a spoon.
To serve, start with some rice-lentil mixture, then add the kale, tofu, cauliflower, carrots, green onions, sauce and top with the pepitas. Absolutely delicious! Enjoy!
Recipe by Epicurean Vegan at https://epicureanvegan.com/2014/09/29/black-rice-lentil-thai-bowls-cashew-coconut-curry-sauce/