Teriyaki Rice Bowl Recipe with Tofu and Brussels Sprouts

If you want to make your Brussels sprouts super tasty, this teriyaki rice bowl recipe is the way to do it. In fact, it’s a sure fire winner. It’s quick and easy to make, packed with protein rich tofu and nutritious Brussels sprouts and made extra delicious with homemade teriyaki sauce.

It’s completely dairy-free and a meal I was so impressed with that I made it twice during Veganuary this year.

Veganuary Day 31

Before I started eating only plant based food this month, I really wasn’t sure if I’d manage to successfully complete Veganuary. I’m really pleased to report that I did. Not only did I stick to a vegan diet, but I found it so much easier than I’d imagined. There were a couple of hurdles at the beginning and then it was plain sailing all the way.

I’ve eaten a wider variety of foods than I normally would and they were all delicious. Plus, I’ve lost half a stone. To be fair, this is more to do with my new year’s resolution to eat more sensibly, limit my sugar intake and cut out junk food. But I might not have managed it if it hadn’t been for Veganuary.

What Did I Miss?

I haven’t missed cheese. I haven’t missed milk chocolate and I haven’t missed eggs. Who’d have thought it? I have missed butter though. There’s absolutely no substitute for it.

Before I started Veganuary, I had a look at some of the replacement plant spreads, but as I suspected, they all have too many additives in for my liking. I found nut butters worked brilliantly with marmite on toast, especially almond butter. But for everything else I’d normally have on toast, such as marmalade, I just abstained.

What Did I Learn?

I learnt that these vegan peanut butter banana muffins are some of the yummiest muffins I’ve ever eaten. I’ve learnt vegan breakfasts and lunches are to be enjoyed not feared. This post for 31 healthy vegan breakfasts helped.

As for lunch, I could eat this mushroom pâté with walnuts and butter beans pretty much every day, but I’ve managed to constrain myself to only making two batches. I’ve also remembered just how good miso soup is. And I’ve learnt that despite my best efforts, I’m unable to make acquafaba meringues.

Plant Milks

Milk was one of the hurdles it took me a little while to overcome. Initially, I couldn’t find a non-dairy milk that I was happy with. Luckily, it didn’t take too long before I found some fantastic plant milks that I will continue to use. They’re organic, only have water and salt as additions and have a much higher percentage of nuts or oats than most of the others.

Cashew milk is the most neutral. It’s great for cups of tea or cereal. Oat milk is the creamiest and this was the one I favoured most for porridge making. Almond is probably the most nutritious and I used that for my morning smoothies.

Eating Out

We haven’t been out and about much this month, so it’s hard to know how easy it would be to find good food. We went out for a glorious vegan breakfast one Sunday morning. Or at least I did. CT had his usual full on cooked breakfast. But this was a planned trip because we knew the cafe in question laid on vegan breakfasts.

I wasn’t so lucky when we were out with a friend and called into the local garden centre for a bite to eat. A cup of tea with soy milk was all that was on offer for me. I don’t think I’ll be going there again.

Luckily cafes seem to have cottoned on to plant milks now. The only other time I went out was to meet a friend in town at one of our local cafes. I only wanted a drink and this wasn’t a problem as they had oat milk available. But I noted they had one vegan option on the lunchtime menu too.

Will I Continue with a Vegan Diet?

The short answer is no. I took part in Veganuary because I thought it would be good for me to have a solely plant based diet for a month. It has been. I feel healthier, I’ve learnt a few things and I’ve widened my repertoire. From now on I plan to eat less dairy and eggs than I used to and I’d like to have at least one day a week where I eat only plant-based foods.

When next year comes around I’d really like to take the Veganuary challenge once again. Only this time, I’ll know it’s not really much of a challenge for a long-term vegetarian who already eats a lot of vegan meals.

Teriyaki Rice Bowl with Tofu & Brussels Sprouts

Even if you make your own teriyaki sauce like I did, this teriyaki rice bowl is still a super fast meal to put together. If you manage to soak the rice for a good eight hours or so before cooking, the whole thing can be done from start to finish in about twenty minutes.

It’s a particularly good meal for a vegan midweek supper. Just get the rice soaking before you leave for work in the morning and it will be ready to cook when you get home.

You’ll need to pre-cook the Brussels sprouts, but that really doesn’t take any time at all. Once they’re done, it’s just a question of throwing everything in a pan for a few minutes and stir-frying.

Eating from a bowl somehow makes this dish really comforting. If you use short grain brown rice as I did, you can try eating the contents of your bowl with chopsticks. It makes us feel that we’re having a sort of Japanese experience and it also means the food lasts longer. CT just wolfs it down if he uses a fork or spoon.

Black sesame seeds and nori seaweed flakes add additional flavour and nutrition, but neither are necessary, so if you don’t have them, just leave them out. You can use a commercial teriyaki sauce, but it really doesn’t take long to make your own. Here’s my homemade teriyaki sauce recipe if you’d like it.

Brussels Sprouts

People seem to have a love it or hate it attitude to Brussels sprouts. I put it down to school meals where they used to boil the poor things to death. If they’re cooked too long, they can develop an obnoxious sulphur flavour and the texture becomes decidedly soggy. But cooked well, they can be delicious. In case you need any help, here’s my quick guide on how to cook the perfect Brussels sprouts.

Then again, why not try my teriyaki rice bowl if you’re looking for a recipe to convince you. Do look for fresh sprouts though. I find ones that have been hanging around for a while just don’t taste as nice.

I managed to get hold of some little purple sprouts still on the stalk for this recipe. They went dark green once cooked, but looked pretty when raw. The sprout season is a short one, but you can easily substitute kale or cabbage if you can’t get hold of any.

The British eat more Brussels sprouts than any other country in Europe apparently. Where would Christmas be without them? I bet not many have enjoyed them in this teriyaki rice bowl recipe though.

Sprouts are incredibly nutritious. They’re rich in antioxidants and are particularly high in vitamins K and C. If this wasn’t enough, they have a particularly high fibre content, which is good for gut health.

Other 30 Minutes or Less Recipes for Vegan Midweek Meals

• 20 minute spinach chickpea curry
• Arayes: tempeh stuffed pitta breads
• Creamy tahini white beans
• Green pasta sauce
• Lettuce & pea soup with new potatoes
• Spicy peanut butter noodles

I have plenty more Tin and Thyme recipes which feature tofu as a main ingredient. And for even more ideas, head over to my tofu Pinterest board.

Keep in Touch

Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this teriyaki rice bowl, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.

For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?

If you’d like to see some more bowl food recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.

Choclette x

Teriyaki Rice Bowl. PIN IT.

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5 from 8 votes

Teriyaki Rice Bowl with Tofu and Brussels Sprouts

An easy, quick and delicious plant-based midweek meal. Make your own teriyaki sauce (recipe coming soon) or use a commercial one.

Cook ModeToggle to keep screen awake

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: bowl food, brussels sprouts, easy, quick, rice, teriyaki, vegan

Servings: 2 people

Calories: 459kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Ingredients

• 125 g short grain brown rice soaked for at least 8 hours if possible
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 300 g Brussels Sprouts trimmed
• 1 red chilli thinly sliced (keep seeds in if you like it hot)
• 1 clove garlic sliced into thin batons
• thumb size knob root ginger sliced into thin matchsticks
• 200 g firm tofu chopped into small cubes
• 1 tsp white sesame seeds
• 4 tbsp teriyaki sauce or to taste (I used homemade teriyaki sauce)
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil* optional
• 1 tsp black sesame seeds optional
• nori flakes for sprinkling optional

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

• Rinse the rice well and drain. Place in a small saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Cover with fresh water to about twice its depth and bring to the boil. Lower the heat to a bare simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Turn the heat off, but leave to steam with the lid on for a further 10 minutes.
  125 g short grain brown rice
• Whilst the rice is cooking, cook the sprouts in a pan of salted water for about 5 minutes until barely tender. Drain, refresh in cold water, then drain again. If the sprouts are small, keep them whole, otherwise half or even quarter them if they are particularly large.
  300 g Brussels Sprouts
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan (or wok if you have one) over a moderate heat.
  1 tbsp sesame oil
• Add the chilli, garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the sprouts and tofu and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Add the sesame seeds and stir-fry for another minute. When everything is hot and slightly coloured add the teriyaki sauce. Stir, heat through and serve.
  1 red chilli, 1 clove garlic, thumb size knob root ginger, 200 g firm tofu, 1 tsp white sesame seeds, 4 tbsp teriyaki sauce
• Pour the toasted sesame oil into the rice and fork through.
  1 tsp toasted sesame oil*
• Divide the rice between two bowls, spoon in the teriyaki sprouts and tofu, then sprinkle with black sesame seeds and nori flakes. Eat with chopsticks if you dare.
  1 tsp black sesame seeds, nori flakes for sprinkling

Notes

If the rice hasn’t been soaked or only soaked for a short while, it will need longer to cook.

No sesame oil? Replace it with a neutral cooking oil of your choice.

Replace the sprouts with chopped greens of your choice. Pak Choi is a good option.

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 459kcal | Carbohydrates: 70.9g | Protein: 19.8g | Fat: 14.2g | Saturated Fat: 2.1g | Sodium: 1430mg | Potassium: 828mg | Fiber: 10.6g | Sugar: 10.2g | Calcium: 2790mg | Iron: 0.9mg

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below letting us know how you got on and do share a photo on Instagram. Tag @choclette8 or use hashtag #tinandthyme.

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I’m sharing this recipe for teriyaki rice bowls with Easy Peasy Foodie for #CookBlogShare.