I’ve mentioned this before, but my extended family is probably more “foodie” than most. We love food and take delight in preparing dishes to share with each other. Ever since I was a little girl, my family had a tradition of making lumpias together. If you’ve never had them, they are best described as a egg roll, although they have a different flavor. The process involves cutting vegetables and meats into little slices, wrapping them in a shell, and then deep frying them to perfection. They are definitely not the most macro friendly, but they are so worth every single macro!
Since there is deep frying involved, this is a pretty heavy meal. To offset that a little bit, my family always serves those crispy lumpias with a fresh cabbage slaw that has no fat in it. And although I love the lumpias, I look forward to the slaw just as much. Turns out, it is so simple to throw together and made with only a handful of ingredients. I got to thinking, this is too good to eat just when we are all together making lumpias! And this is how this Asian Inspired Rice Pilaf and Slaw Bowl recipe was born!
It starts with a very simple rice recipe, similar to how you would begin any rice pilaf. Then, after the rice is all cooked, you add in fresh cilantro and green onions to give it a fresh element and soy sauce and rice wine vinegar to give it the Asian flavor profile. While the rice is cooking, you can throw together the simple slaw. I used angel hair sliced cabbage and added in some chopped cilantro and green onion. Then I drizzled it with some rice wine vinegar as the dressing. And that’s it! I kid you not, it has so much flavor, especially something that has such minimal calories. As far as the chicken goes, we found at our Costco a chicken that was pre-marinated in a Garlic and Sesame marinade, and then tossed it on the grill. You can find something similar online to copy cat, like this recipe or just use another type of cooked chicken. To assemble, you simply combine some rice, slaw, and chicken and sprinkle them with chopped peanuts for some fat. Simple, delicious, and so satisfying! We can’t wait to make it again. One bite, and I think you’ll see why!
Asian Inspired Rice Pilaf and Slaw Bowl
Ingredients
Asian Inspired Rice Pilaf
- 1/2 onion, diced (111 g)
- 2 garlic cloves, mined
- 336 g rice (brown or white or whatever you preference is!)
- 5 chicken stock granules + 5 cups of water (or 5 cups of chicken stock)
- 15 g soy sauce (optional. It does add a more salty profile to the rice, so if you are sensitive to salt or avoiding it for health reasons, skip it)
- 20 g seasoned rice vinegar
- 7 g fresh cilantro, chopped
- 50 g green onion, thinly sliced
Asian Inspired Slaw
- 600 g cabbage, thinly sliced (I used 2 10 oz bags of angel hair sliced cabbage)
- 14 g fresh cilantro, chopped
- 10 g green onions, thinly sliced (or more or less to taste)
- 100 g seasoned rice vinegar (or more or less to taste. Will adjust macros but just slightly)
Additional Ingredients
- Cooked chicken, diced
- Peanuts, finely chopped
Instructions
Asian Inspired Rice Pilaf
- Spray a pot well with cooking spray and then heat over medium heat. Add garlic and diced onion to the pot and give it a stir. Cook until garlic is fragrant and the onion starts to become translucent, stirring occasionally.
- Add in rice and chicken stock (or granules and water). Cook according to the rice package's instructions.
- Once the rice is cooked and drained, add in cilantro, green onions, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce (if desired). Give everything a good stir, taste, and adjust rice wine vinegar and soy as necessary.
Asian Inspired Slaw
- Combine sliced cabbage, cilantro, green onion, and rice wine vinegar in a bowl. Toss together until combined.
To assemble bowls
- Add desired amount of rice, cooked chicken, and slaw into a bowl. Sprinkle with desired amount of peanuts.
Notes