One of my most vivid childhood memories is Buddhist monks in saffron robes walking the narrow streets of Bangkok before dawn carrying their alms bowls while making their daily rounds. My sister and I would go outside, take off our shoes to show respect to the monks, pray and place food rice, curry, vegetables and fruit in each monk’s bowl. The monks would give us a blessing and chant. When the new trend of Martha Stewart’s Buddha bowls introduced in her book Meatless, I thought back to my childhood in Bangkok, and how Martha would approve of our offerings. Here is our take on a Buddha bowl, which is a quick, easy and healthy meal with our authentic Thai peanut sauce.
Ingredients
WATCHAREE’S Thai peanut sauce (for dressing)
3 cups of cooked rice
1 cup of all natural sprouts such as lentil, pea, snow pea and sunflower
3-4 Hakurei Japanese turnips, julienned
1 cup edamame, cooked according to package
Edible flowers (optional)
Preparation
Arrange cooked rice in a bowl. My favorite is Thai jasmine rice cooked using water that is infused with butterfly pea flowers and a few drops of lime juice to change the color from purple to blue.
Arrange the rest of vegetables on top of your rice bowl. You can substitute Hakurie turnips with your favorite vegetables such as carrots or zucchini.
Add edible flowers if you have them and serve with WATCHAREE’S Thai peanut sauce.