Dubai-based Delna Prakashan serves up a delightful Asian recipe from her debut cookbook Whip It! – A Guide to Being Sassy & Skilled in the Kitchen. Her optimism and joie de vivre to cooking leaps from every spoonful of Buddha Bowl.
If I feel like eating an Asian meal and have some of my favourite red rice and mix colour quinoa leftovers, then in just under ten minutes I can have a steaming hot bowl ready. This recipe is bursting with colours, flavours, and nutrition—zen for our eyes, taste, and soul.
The key to success with this dish is the size you chop the vegetables. The more even and similar in size, the easier to get the vegetables to cook at the same rate. So, chop them small to medium, and they will cook at the same pace.
Wondering if it may taste better with some chicken in it? Of course! Throw in some cooked chicken (chop it to a similar size to the veggies) and toss it in right after step two, before seasoning.
Definitely a mood lifter – make some and you’ll know why: it’s like eating a rainbow.
Serves : One
Cooking time : 10 minutes
Ingredients
Olive oil
½ cup chopped bell pepper, any two colours
1 medium-sized broccoli floret, with stem, chopped
¾ cup courgette, chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
½ cup button mushrooms, chopped
1 teaspoon chilli garlic paste
Soy sauce
½ cup cooked red rice with mix colour quinoa (Boil ¼ cup of red rice with 1 tablespoon of mix colour quinoa beforehand and strain)
Handful purple cabbage, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
2 spring onions, finely chopped
3 or 4 fresh coriander leaves, for garnish
Method
Step 1 – Into a wok or a wide frying pan on high heat, drizzle just enough olive oil to make the wok shine. Keep the heat high throughout the cooking process as it is very important to give that ‘fried’ and ‘charred’ taste to the dish.
Step 2 -Add the chopped bell peppers, broccoli, courgette, chilli, and mushrooms. Stir fry until the mushrooms soften and the courgette is slightly charred.
Step 3 -Stir in the chilli garlic paste and a few splashes of soy sauce and continue to stir fry.
Add the red rice and quinoa, and purple cabbage.
Step 4 – Begin to gently press down as if you are flattening the rice onto the wok bottom. When you hear the rice begin to crackle, stir and check for seasoning. Adjust with salt and pepper if required.
Step 5 – Turn the heat off and stir in the spring onions. Serve hot, garnished with the coriander leaves.
By:
Melissa Randhawa | Consulting Editor | Dubai | UAE
Melissa Randhawa is a UAE-based journalist for 25 years. Her work covers business and lifestyle with interviews and speeches for celebrities, people of talent and drivers of change. Her byline appears across international newspapers and magazines.
Born and raised in Dubai, she enjoys research writing about the UAE and those who shape the nation. She also supports NGOs connected to the United Nations. As a lover of linguistics Mel’s style of writing appeals to readers with varying degrees of English – done with effect so as to bring the message HOME. Digitally savvy, Mel works mostly via smartphone yet maintains a certain humanly je ne sais quoi. While she prefers to stay behind the scenes, her views are widely sought by international publications. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/fashion/09iht-luxmag09.html Dubai : Refined Desire