Tired of fried rice? Looking for fresh inspiration for healthy weeknight meals using leftover rice? These three high-protein rice bowls are perfect for any night of the week, featuring steak, fish, and chicken. They’re easily customizable with different proteins and vegetables you have on hand.
Sweet and Spicy Steak Rice Bowl: This bowl features asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, and lean flank steak. Begin by prepping the vegetables: remove the stems from the shiitakes and slice them into strips. Trim the ends off the asparagus and chop into bite-sized pieces. Thinly slice scallions for garnish and mince a couple cloves of garlic. For the steak, slice it into strips, then cube the strips. Season the steak cubes with salt.
For the sweet and spicy stir-fry sauce, combine soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chili garlic paste, and toasted sesame seeds (sesame oil works well too). Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat with a small amount of neutral oil. Add the garlic and cook briefly until fragrant. Add the mushrooms and asparagus with a pinch of salt, sautéing for a few minutes. Remove the vegetables from the pan.
Add a drizzle of oil to the pan and sear the steak cubes until browned on all sides. Pour the stir-fry sauce over the steak and cook for another minute, allowing the sauce to reduce and thicken. To assemble the bowl, add leftover rice, half the cooked vegetables, and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds. Top with the sauced steak, a dollop of Japanese mayonnaise, extra stir-fry sauce, pickled ginger, and scallions.
Chicken Oyakodon Rice Bowl: This Japanese-inspired bowl features chicken, eggs, and a flavorful dashi broth. Dashi is a simple broth made with kombu (dried kelp) and bonito flakes (dried, smoked fish). To make dashi, bring water to a boil with a piece of kombu. Remove from heat and add bonito flakes, letting it steep for 30 seconds before straining. In a bowl, combine the dashi, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sugar.
In a pan over medium heat, sauté cubed chicken with sesame oil and a pinch of salt until cooked through. You can substitute tofu or other vegetables for the chicken. Pour the dashi seasoning mixture over the chicken and simmer for about 45 seconds to reduce and concentrate the flavors. Beat eggs and pour over the chicken. Add sliced scallions, cover the pan slightly offset, and let the eggs steam until set.
Serve the egg and chicken mixture over steamed rice. Top with extra dashi seasoning, Japanese mayonnaise, and a drizzle of sriracha.
Hawaiian-Style Tuna Poke Bowl: This quick and easy bowl features raw tuna, a flavorful sauce, and spicy pickled carrots. To make the pickled carrots, julienne a carrot and thinly slice serrano peppers. Place them in a jar and pour over a boiling mixture of equal parts water and rice vinegar with a pinch of salt.
For the tuna, purchase sushi-grade tuna. Thaw if frozen, pat dry, and cut into bite-sized cubes. For the sauce, whisk together sesame oil, soy sauce, sriracha, and rice wine vinegar. A nice addition to this bowl is wakame seaweed. Rehydrate dried wakame in water, then roughly chop.
In a bowl, combine the tuna, wakame (if using), thinly sliced red onion, scallions, black and white sesame seeds, and the sauce. Let it rest for a few minutes before serving. Assemble the bowl with warm leftover rice, a sprinkle of furikake seasoning (Japanese rice seasoning), the marinated tuna, and top with the spicy pickled carrots and a serrano pepper slice.
