Sesame Rice Bowl

I made my very first poached egg tonight, and it actually turned out successfully thanks to a tutorial that I found from Alton Brown, and which you can also use if you follow this link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/perfect-poached-eggs-recipe.html#!

Ingredients: (*I made this recipe to serve two, with leftover rice)

For sesame infused rice

1 1/2 C uncooked basmati rice (I buy this in bulk from my local coop, as it is much cheaper to buy organic grains and nuts in bulk)

3 C water

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

For sesame braised carrots and mushrooms

1-1 1/2 C baby carrots, cut into quarters lengthwise

1 C diced mushrooms (or more, because why not?, and because they do lose water and cook down)

a few pinches of pink Himalayan sea salt, to taste

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

1/8 cup water

Everything else you’ll need

1/2 red cabbage, finely chopped

1 C mung bean sprouts

2 eggs

about 1 C pea shoots

cilantro

mint (I used peppermint because that’s what I have in my garden)

Thai basil (again, I use this variety because it’s what I have in my garden and I feel that it has a well balanced flavor suitable to a wide variety of recipes, but most any basil would be tasty to add!)

chili pepper/ garlic chili pepper paste for topping (optional)

Directions:

In a large pan, bring 3 cups of water and 1 Tbsp. of sesame oil to a boil.  Once the water reaches boiling, add the 1 1/2 cups of basmati rice.  Stir.  Turn the heat down to low and cover. Cook covered (do not open the cover! not even to peek!) for 20 minutes.  After the 20 minutes have finished and the rice is cooked, remove the lid and stir after taking the pan off the heat.  For other varieties of rice, follow directions specific to the variety.

As your rice cooks, why not get everything else ready (and have a glass of kombucha)?

First and foremost, make sure that all of your vegetables and herbs are thoroughly washed before preparing.

In the meantime, bring a saute pan to medium heat.  Add 1 Tbsp. sesame oil.  Once you have cut up the carrots and mushrooms and the oil has heated (which does not take long, and which will burn if you take over medium heat), add the carrots and mushrooms to the saute pan.  Stir.  Add 1/8 C water (or more if it reduces too quickly) and a few pinches of pink Himalayan salt. Turn heat down to medium-low.  Cook uncovered for about 6-8 minutes for al dente carrots.  Remove from heat.

While the carrots are cooking, prepare the poached egg.  (You can follow my directions here, or check out the link with Alton Brown’s tutorial that I linked above).  Crack egg (or eggs, if you’re cooking for two; I only made one tonight because Mike didn’t want one) bring 1 1/2 inches of water nearly to a boil in a nonstick pan with 1 Tbsp. white vinegar added to it (I used rice wine vinegar because that’s what I had on hand).  Using a spoon, create a whirlpool by briskly stirring the water.  Quickly add the egg to the whirlpool.  Cover and remove from heat. Do NOT remove the lid for 5 minutes. Once the five minutes have elapsed, remove the poached egg from the water with a slotted spoon and place onto a clean, dry cloth or paper towel.

Now that all of the real work is done, you can finally put together your tasty creation!  For a single serving, using about 1 or 1 1/2 cups of rice, make a bed of rice in a bowl.  Top with half of the braised carrots and mushrooms, red cabbage, pea shoots, mung bean sprouts, basil, mint, cilantro, and poached egg.  Repeat for the second bowl. Enjoy!! (and heck, you’ll have at least 2 cups of rice left over for the next day, too!)