Anatomy of a Buddha Bowl
Let's talk about the anatomy of a good Buddha Bowl. What's a Buddha Bowl? Well, it's a cute name for a balanced bowl of food that consists generally of a grain, veggies, a protein, and a sauce - all generally vegetarian, but in my case always vegan. You've probably had one before - they're popular in restaurants that cater to the veg crowd and easy to prepare at home. Why do I like them? Frankly, they're wholesome and make me feel happy to eat. I get to dump everything I love into one bowl and eat it with a yummy sauce, plus they're great for leftovers throughout the week.
For your base, you're going to need a grain. I usually default to quinoa or brown rice, but you can get creative! Millet, farro, and barley all work great as well. Next, you're going to want some veggies. I try to go seasonal (in a world where you can get everything year-round at supermarkets, I realize that this can be hard to figure out, but do a little research for what's in season in your area or shop at farmers markets if you can) and I usually aim for two different veggies, at least one of which is roasted. My favorite combo is roasted sweet potato and steamed kale (SO vegan, gah), but pictured here I've got roasted Brussels sprouts and cauliflower.
Next up is protein. What do you like? Seasoned lentils are nice, marinated baked tofu or tempeh, seitan if you roll that way - it's up to you. Some of you might like an egg on there (sigh, please at least be a beautiful backyard chicken farmer angel like my mother who knows what you're doing if so, or source from someone who is), so that's an option, I suppose.
Then there's the sauce. The options here are basically limitless. This is going to be the main flavor profile of your dish, so make it something you're in the mood for! I like to mess with tahini-based lemony dressings a lot, cashew sauces of all sorts, and honestly even vegan mayo mixed with things (sriracha, bbq sauce, mustard and maple syrup) will do the trick if you're in a hurry.
You've got your optional add-ins next: hummus, hot sauce, nuts, coconut bacon, hemp seeds, pickled things, avocado, whatever you've got - give it a try, pile it on according to your tastes and hunger level.
Now listen, you can do you when it comes to your fillings, but the sauce, as I mentioned, is really key, and I find it's where most people struggle. They leave the sauce off and call vegan food boring. Or they make a gross sauce and say making something vegan tasty is impossible. No, they're just doing it wrong. Here, I'll help you by giving you a sauce recipe.
I worked at a restaurant for years that had a daily Buddha Bowl on the menu, and one of the sauce options was a cashew-based one that is versatile enough to work as a salad dressing, french fry dip, and Buddha Bowl sauce. I don't think this is their exact recipe, because that was a trade secret, but this is my interpretation of it, based on memory.
I use roasted garlic in this (and many) recipes because I have a sensitivity (sensitive creature, told you) to raw alliums, but you could use 1-2 raw cloves of garlic instead if that's your jam. For peppercorns, I use a mixture of black, white, and pink that comes from Central Market in Austin - just use whatever you can get, all black will work great too. As usual, use raw cashews if you can find them. If you can't, roasted and unsalted work. If you can't find unsalted, rinse them or reduce the salt in the recipe. If you're allergic to nuts, use sunflower seeds!
Tangy, Peppery Cashew Sauce
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup water
1 lemon, juiced
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
4-5 cloves garlic, roasted
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp whole peppercorns
If you've got a high speed blender, blend it all together until silky smooth (pausing to scrape down the sides as necessary). If you blender isn't high speed, you'll probably want to soak your cashews for a couple of hours before hand.
That's literally it. I mean, it barely counts as a recipe, but it's very good and versatile. Plus! Now you have a canvas: take out the peppercorns and ACV and play around with miso, nutritional yeast, capers, sun dried tomatoes, olives, other things - you can do this, I promise you. Just adjust the salt if you're adding salty things.
This sauce thickens in the fridge, so if it feels a little thin, refrigerate it before adding more water. If it thickens too much for your liking, add more water. This will keep in the fridge for up to a week and makes 4 servings of sauce. (For me. I use a lot of sauce. Maybe it makes more for you.)
Ok, go forth and turn on your ovens now that it's cooler and see what you can come up with!