Thai Salmon Power Buddha Bowls

Announcement! I am so hooked on making Buddha or Power Bowls that I have created a section for them on the blog! This will be the second one I’ve made over the past few weeks (see my Chicken Avocado Buddha Bowl here).  I am going to be making all different kinds of these energy-packed bowls over the next few weeks! If you have an idea, I’d love to work on it for you!  Just give a shout in the comments below!

You guys! If you are a Thai food lover, this bowl is for you.

It satisfies all those areas of the taste buds where salty, spicy, sweet and sour hit from the curry coconut dressing and it’s super good for you on top of it all!

As usual with fresh bowls we’ll need to get busy chopping vegetables but first, get a start on your grain of choice. I usually use a mixture of quinoa and brown rice but you can use quinoa, brown rice, farro or whatever floats your boat for the grain. I have become quite enamored with farro of late because I love its chewy texture in bowls.

Here are some tips to speed up your process of making healthy bowls for work week nights.

Make 3-4 times what you or your family would eat in a night. Invest in an inexpensive rice cooker which makes things really easy and carefree and while it’s cooking away you can chop veggies.  Pick your favorite vegetables and chop 3-4 times the servings up you’d usually use and store them in zippered bags in your refrigerator crisper drawer so you don’t have to multiple nights of chopping!  You can also have fresh veg on hand to add to salads and stir-fries that way as well!

So now that you should be cooking away on your healthy grain and while that’s cooking, let’s get to chopping.

Roughly chop up about one cup of cilantro. I love cilantro so I like a lot.  Pick the leaves off your fresh mint and Thai basil.  Chop up 1/2 cup of raw peanuts, cashews or almonds.

Slice up some red, yellow or orange peppers thinly or a combination of both like I did. Microwave about a cup of shelled edamames for 3 minutes then pour cold water over them to cool, then drain them. Slice about a 1/2 cup of sugar snap peas crosswise.  Remove the ribs and stems from the kale and slice it into ribbon shreds until you get about 4 -5 cups. Slice a carrot into match sticks, peel it into strips or just buy the pre-cut match sticks like I did to keep things easy!

Salt and pepper two 4-ounce salmon filets and grill in 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat about 3 minutes per side, depending on the thickness. This was a horrible picture so I opted not to use it!

Now it’s time to make the dressing.  In a small saucepan, add in one-fourth cup almond or peanut butter, 1 tablespoon of Thai red curry paste (I use Mae Ploy), 1 cup of coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, one tablespoon of fish sauce (I use Red Boat) and 1/4 cup of honey.  Mix it all together over low heat so the almond or peanut butter warms and turns runny. Once it all emulsifies together, take it off the heat and let it cool a bit, or you can use it warm, which is also delicious. Curry paste has some chiles in it, so if you don’t like things spicy, you may want to start with 1/2 tablespoon and taste and work your way up…

Let’s assemble the bowls!

Spoon half of the quinoa or brown rice into the bottom of each bowl.

Next, add each chopped veggie, the kale and the cilantro in sections around the edges of the bowl.

Then take two forks and lightly pull apart each salmon filet so the pieces are more bite-sized.  Then add the salmon into the middle of each bowl.

Then pour your desired amount of dressing over each.

Add a generous crunchy sprinkle of chopped almonds, peanuts or cashews. Scatter some Thai basil and mint leaves over all.

And dig in!

You will not believe how good this is…and it’s SO good for you! I think I got my entire veggie recommendation in for one day in this bowl!

ENJOY!

Katie of dishinanddishes.com

2 bowls

Thai Salmon Power Buddha Bowls

15 min

30 min

45 min

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes My Lists My Calendar

FOR THE BOWL

1 c. quinoa, uncooked

2 3-4 oz. salmon filets, skin off

1 c. sugar snap peas

2/3 c. red orange and yellow bell pepper, sliced thinly

1 c. loosely packed cilantro

1 c. carrot matchsticks

1/2 c. shelled edamame

4 c. finely shredded kale

10 fresh mint leaves

10 thai basil or basil leaves

FOR THE DRESSING:

1/4 c almond butter

1 T. Thai red curry paste, preferably Mae Ploy

1 c. coconut milk

2 T. rice wine vinegar

1 T. fish sauce

1/4 c. honey

1/2 c. chopped peanuts, cashews or almonds

Cook quinoa according to package directions

Put edamame in microwave safe bowl and cover

Microwave 3 minutes, drain hot water and cover twice with cold water to cool, drain

Salt and pepper salmon on both sides

Add olive oil to nonstick skillet and turn on medium-high heat

Sear salmon on both sides leaving 2-3 minutes per side, then flip and cook 2-3 minutes on other side. Remove to plate

Remove ribs from kale and slice as thinly as possible to make ribbon shreds

Thinly slice peppers

Roughly chop cilantro

Thinly slice snap peas

Wash and pull mint and Thai basil leaves off stems

FOR THE DRESSING

Add all ingredients to a small saucepan and whisk over low heat until fully incorporated. Or you can microwave for 30 second increments, whisking after each one.

Allow to cool to room temp

TO ASSEMBLE BOWLS:

Spread 1/2 of the quinoa over bottom of each of two bowls

Top with half of the kale

Arrange some of each vegetable and cilantro around the edges, leaving space in center of bowl for salmon

With two forks, pull apart salmon and place half in one bowl in center, then repeat in second bowl

Scatter mint and Thai basil over each bowl evenly

Pour dressing to taste over each bowl and sprinkle with nuts

ENJOY!

Nutrition

Calories

1839 cal

Fat

54 g

Carbs

283 g

Protein

64 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

7.8.1.2

518

https://www.dishinanddishes.com/thai-salmon-power-buddha-bowls/