A few years ago, I discovered a local restaurant that serves up a variety of fantastic banh mi sandwiches. They offer a number of fun spins on the classic dish, all of which are pretty darn delicious. My one complaint? The amount of crusty bread (while tasty!) completely overpowers all the other flavors. And I always wind up ripping off a good portion to get to everything piled inside.
Which brings me to these portabella banh mi bowls - they have all the flavors of the classic sandwich, but in a deconstructed, easy to eat way! And without the bread to get all soggy, these bowls make for a great prep-ahead meal for lunch or dinner.
In lieu of the bread, these bowls use brown rice as the base. We top that rice with sauteed portabella mushrooms, which are marinated first in a flavorful garlic soy lime sauce. To finish the dish off, we have some simple quick pickled veggies, crunchy cabbage, chopped peanuts and a spicy sriracha mayo. So much goodness!
You can easily customize these bowls to your taste, adjusting the amount of any of the toppings as desired. You can also serve with another grain of choice, or just whatever you happen to have on hand.
As for the spicy mayo, it does help to transfer the mixture to a squeeze bottle if possible, so that it comes out in a nice drizzle and not a big blob on top of your bowl!
Finally, the prep time for the recipe is a bit on the longer side (about 45 minutes), but this includes time for the mushrooms to marinate and the veggies to pickle. During this time, prep everything else for the dish. You’ll wind up with about 20 to 25 minutes of hands-on active work.
Ingredients
For the pickled veggies:
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon granulated or cane sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- ½ cup julienned radishes
- ½ cup julienned cucumber
For the mushrooms:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 12 ounces portabella mushrooms about 4 caps, gills scraped and sliced ½ inch thick
- 1 medium red onion sliced
For serving:
- ½ cup mayo or vegan mayo
- 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons sriracha or to taste
- Cooked brown rice
- Thinly sliced red cabbage
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Chopped peanuts
Instructions
For the pickled veggies:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, orange juice, sugar and salt. Add in the carrots, radishes and cucumber, and toss to combine. Let the mixture sit while you prepare the rest of the recipe, tossing once or twice.
For the mushrooms:
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, maple syrup and red pepper flakes. Add in the sliced mushrooms and toss until well combined. Let the mushrooms marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature, tossing once halfway through.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large nonstick skillet set over medium high heat. When hot, add in the mushrooms (shake off any excess marinade first) and the onion. Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, until tender and the juices have cooked off.
To serve:
- In a small bowl, mix together the mayo and sriracha.
- To assemble, add some of the brown rice to a bowl. Top with some of the cooked mushroom mixture, the pickled veggies (using a slotted spoon to drain and discard the juices), the red cabbage, cilantro and peanuts. Drizzle with the sriracha mayo.
- Serve.
Jessi says
Thank you for a great recipe!!! It looks so healthy and delicious in those colorful pictures!!! Just can't wait to make it.
Pilar Bradfield says
This is fabulous! I subbed toasted pepitas for the peanuts and it was delicious! The mayo drizzle was just the touch to make it so good.
Ashley Jennings says
So happy to hear it!