Love a good rice bowl? If not, let this be your first!
This could be your new favorite one-dish meal, full of flavor, color and nutrition. This has been on my rotation for years because it’s not only simple to make, but tastes delicious too!
You might have read in my previous post about ankake and “an” which we will also make today.
‘An’ is a savory sauce typically made with dashi broth thickened using a starch like arrowroot starch（葛粉 – kuzoko）or potato starch (片栗粉 – katakuriko).
If you want to learn more about plant-based Japanese food, the new cookbook is now available. You might want to check that out for similar recipes like this. Have you tried cooking plan-based food before?
Yasai ankakedonburi (Vegetable rice bowl) 野菜丼
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the an (あん sauce)
- 2 cups shiitake dashi
- 2 tbsp mirin, nikkitta ((microwaved 20–30 seconds to evaporate alcohol))
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce ((usukuchi shoyu))
- 1 1/2 tbsp Potato starch (in 3 tbsp water )
For the vegetables
- 1 cup renkon (lotus root) (sliced 1/4 inch thick and quartered)
- 1 1/2 cup fresh shiitake mushrooms (sliced 1/4 inch thick)
- 2 pieces aburaage (fried tofu skin) or small strips of firm tofu
- 1/4 red bell pepper (sliced 1/4 inch thick)
- 1/2 cup snow or sugar snap peas
- 1/2 bunch enoki mushrooms (bottom trimmed)
- 1/2 tbsp virgin olive oil or sesame oil
For serving
- Japanes brown rice (short grain) or udon noodles
- Toppings- kaiware daikon (radish sprouts), shiso (perilla), chopped green onions, white pepper, ichimi or shichimi red pepper
Instructions
To make the an sauce
- Add the shiitake dashi, mirin, and light soy sauce to a small saucepan and heat to a gentle simmer.
- Get the potato starch slurry ready by stirring it to eliminate any clumps.
- Gradually add the potato starch slurry into the dashi mixture stirring continuously to avoid clumping. Bring to a gentle boil and within a minute or so, the mixture should be noticeably thicker.
- Once thickened, remove from heat and cover.
To make the vegetables
- Using a large pan on medium heat, add the oil and cook the renkon and mushrooms for 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the rest of the vegetables and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened. Stir
occasionally, allowing them to brown slightly. - Once the vegetables have softened, add all the ‘an’ sauce to the vegetable pan and mix the vegetables into the sauce.
- Remove from heat.
To serve
- Place one serving of brown rice into a bowl and pour the vegetable ‘an’ sauce over the rice. Use one generous cup of rice (or 1 bundle of udon noodles) and one generous cup of vegetables with an sauce per person.
- Top with desired toppings and enjoy!
Notes
Tips:
- Other vegetables that work well in this dish are onion, shredded carrots, okra, baby corn, bamboo shoots, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, spinach or mizuna. Basically, anything that you’d use in a stir fry would go well with the ‘an’ sauce.
- Use any leftover vegetable ‘an’ sauce as a side dish on its own or to season other foods such as block tofu.
Konnichiwa! (Hello!) I'm Pat Tokuyama, a Japanese tofu cookbook author, who travels for music, food, and adventure. If you like Japanese tea, checkout some of the newestorganic japanese tea, matcha bowls and noren and more!
** Curious about the Plant Based Japanese Cooking Club? ** Learn more here!
Konnichiwa! (Hello!) I'm Pat Tokuyama, a Japanese tofu cookbook author, who travels for music, food, and adventure. If you like Japanese tea, checkout some of the newestorganic japanese tea, matcha bowls and noren and more!
** Curious about the Plant Based Japanese Cooking Club? ** Learn more here!