Do you love food bowls as much as I do? They seem to be popping up everywhere, from Mexican food chains like Chipotle, to Asian inspired offerings, to salads. I love them so much, you might say I’m “bowled over” by having the whole meal in one dish!

With my love of bowls firmly established, I decided to try my hand at making one at home. Today, I’m sharing the technique, recipe, and results of the Chicken Teriyaki bowls I made for my husband and I for dinner recently.

For my first foray into bowls, I decided on a Chicken Teriyaki loaded with veggies and other items, over rice. The sauce was made from low sodium soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, ground ginger, honey, water and corn starch. I will have the full recipe as an attachment below, but all of the sauce ingredients are stirred together in a measuring cup and then heated over low until thickened by the cornstarch mixture.

Then it was time to prepare the various vegetables and other ingredients and have them ready. This step is important to do early because once the chicken is done, this dish comes together quickly! For these bowls, I used things I had in the refrigerator like broccoli crowns and leftover canned corn. I shredded a carrot, and sugar snap peas. The vegetables were each microwaved to warm them through and cook to desired doneness. You can definitely go freestyle on this one and add whatever vegetables and ingredients your family enjoys. For this bowl, I also included some additional protein with cashews, and some sesame seeds for crunch and visual appeal.

Next, came the chicken, and for this application, I chose thin chicken tenders which I diced into cubes. Using some butter and olive oil, the chicken was sauteed until cooked through. Towards the end of cooking, I added some fresh spinach leaves that I had on hand and allowed them to wilt and absorb the chicken flavor. It probably goes without saying, but the substitution of Tofu or some other meatless alternative could easily be used for this recipe instead of the chicken.

For the rice, I used a combination of prepackaged brown rice and some leftover white rice we had on hand. The rice was heated and set aside until serving. If you haven’t used the prepackaged Seeds of Change rice varieties from Costco, I would highly recommend them. While I love using our rice cooker for various pilafs and rice combinations, sometimes it is nice to have a quick, microwavable option. This recipe already had enough moving parts, so today, I took the easy route.

Finally, it was time to put this bowl together! To the cooked chicken and spinach skillet, add a small amount of the soy sauce mixture to coat. For a prettier presentation, I molded the rice using a small rice bowl, and then inverted it into my serving bowls. Around the perimeter of the rice, I added the chicken, vegetables, nuts, and topped the entire bowl with sesame seeds. For fun, I served them with chopsticks, which I struggle to use, but my husband is a pro at using. Serve the remaining warm sauce to be added as desired.

One of the things that makes this bowl so nice is the presentation. Not unlike a Cobb Salad, there is something lovely about having all of the ingredients in sections around the perimeter of the bowl. In a way, it’s like a deconstructed stir fry, but where you control what goes into each bite.

What is wonderful about bowls is that they allow you to use up leftover meats and veggies, as well as experiment with various flavor profiles each time you make one. Had I had them on hand, some other nice additions might have been to sauté fresh mushrooms with the chicken or adding fresh diced mango to the final bowl. Maybe next time.

So, there you have it; my attempt at creating a Teriyaki Chicken bowl recipe for us to enjoy. For full disclosure, this serving ended up being way too large for our dinner, and we had to save about half of it for the next day’s lunch. It is hard to gauge as you’re piling on the ingredients just how large it becomes!

I hope I’ve encouraged you to try your hand at creating bowls. Other ideas I have going forward are a Greek Shrimp and Orzo bowl using mint, Greek olives, pine nuts and grilled zucchini, and a Southwest Chicken Bowl using black beans and rice, olives, diced tomato, grated cheese, and corn. The possibilities to get bowled over are literally endless! For today’s recipe, see the recipe card and instructions here:

Good tidings,

Diane