Looking for a meal that you customize to your liking—or perhaps to your guests or family’s picky palates? We’ve got you covered with this crispy rice bowl. While this recipe features basmati rice and veggies, you can easily sub in your favorite ingredients and even add an additional protein like seared salmon.
Use leftover rice to get the desired level of crispiness and crunch from this bowl. If you don’t have any on hand, freshly cooked rice is a fine alternative. You’ll also want to fry the egg until the yolk slightly clouds over. This will allow the yolk to break over the rest of the ingredients, adding a delicious creaminess to the dish.
The recipe includes togarashi, a hot Japanese chili that people use to create a variety of spice blends. Look out for the most common blend, shichimi togarashi, at your local supermarket or online. It typically includes the chili, sesame seeds, an orange peel, nori, and a few other ingredients. You’ll use shichimi togarashi to finish off your dish, but be careful how much you use as it really brings the heat.
Ingredients
Crispy Rice Bowl
- 1 cup cooked basmati rice (Recommended: Leftover/one-day-old rice)
- 1 bunch curly kale
- 3-4 carrots
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 egg
- Pinch Togarashi
Chili Mayo
- 1 tablespoon chili sauce (Recommended: Lahtt Sauce’s Vegan All-Purpose Chili Oil Sauce)
- 2 tablespoons mayo
Instructions
Crispy Rice Bowl
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Take kale leaves off the stems and roughly chop. Place leaves in a colander and wash thoroughly.
- Peel carrots and cut into quarters.
- Place kale on one side of a sheet pan; place carrots on the other side of the pan. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place kale and carrots in oven and cook for 20-25 minutes.
- While vegetables are cooking, place cooked rice in a skillet with olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook until crisp, then transfer to a bowl.
- Once finished cooking, transfer roasted kale and carrots to the bowl.
- Crack egg in skillet with olive oil and cover. Cook until it reaches desired texture (fry until the yolk is just clouded over for a runny egg). Transfer egg to the bowl.
- Sprinkle togarashi over ingredients in the bowl and add a dollop of chili mayo.
Chili Mayo
- Stir chili sauce and mayo together.
Notes
- Using Fresh Rice: If you don't have leftover rice, rinse uncooked rice and place it in a rice cooker with the designated amount of water. Turn rice cooker on to the correct setting (white rice or equivalent). It should take about 25 minutes to cook.
- Meal Prep Idea: Get a two-for-one deal by making a Roasted Kale and Prosciutto Bowl, too. The recipe uses the same type of rice and veggies, so you can easily whip up extra to use in your bowls all week long!
Kristina DeMichele is the Digital Content Strategist at Harvard Magazine. She is also a freelance copyeditor who has worked for America's Test Kitchen as the Senior Content Editor of Cook's Illustrated Magazine.
