Help: what is missing from my vegetarian bean and rice bowls?

[Anonymous]

something pickled or at least an acidic dressing.

[Anonymous]

I add portobello mushrooms to a lot of dishes like rice bowls as a meat substitute. They blend well with so many different flavors and everybody in the family eats them.

[Anonymous]

Roasted shitake mushrooms
Pickled red onion or radishes
Roasted salted broccoli

[Anonymous]

And hard boiled eggs for protein

[Anonymous]

Ong def def def do black beans from dry. It’s incredible how good they are. Soak overnight, and then put them in a pot generously covered w water. Then throw in a whole onion, a head of garlic, a ton of salt, and two bay leafs. Bring to a boil and then simmer for a few hours. You can get an actual recipe online. But I promise it’s a game changer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ong def def def do black beans from dry. It’s incredible how good they are. Soak overnight, and then put them in a pot generously covered w water. Then throw in a whole onion, a head of garlic, a ton of salt, and two bay leafs. Bring to a boil and then simmer for a few hours. You can get an actual recipe online. But I promise it’s a game changer.

Only problem is after you’ve done this you won’t want canned beans again!

I’m a former vegetarian and I still eat a lot of beans/lentils but I can’t do canned. Except in chili.

[Anonymous]

Add some chipotle seasoning to the beans. Really doctor them up - sauté an onion, bell pepper then add beans and salt, chipotle, cumin and lime juice. Also do guacamole instead of avocado - just mash the avocado and add cilantro, diced red onion, lime juice and salt. Use a sharp cheddar instead of pepper jack.

[Anonymous]

Never had good beans and rice as a main dish. That's supposed to be a side dish, or a salad topping.

[Anonymous]

Try pulverizing chick peas into “crumbs”, toss them in seasoning and olive oil and roast until crunchy. Use them as a topping

[Anonymous]

Get the Rancho Verde beans cookbook. Look at Ambitious Kitchen blog for lots of salads with chickpeas. Consider bowls with rice noodles and a sesame or spicy peanut sauce. Checkout JustineSnacks.com for her series of “baked salads”.
Checkout Katcancook on TikTok for her series “Hungry Lady Salads”. Also on TikTok, Checkout BakedbyMelissa for vegetarian recipes.

[Anonymous]

If you MUST eat beans + rice though, make mujedrah.

TJ sells fresh cooked lentils in the salad area in a box that are wonderful. Mix that with white rice. Top with caramelized onions- like 5 onions, it dwindles down to nothing. And crank up exhaust vent to avoid stinking up the house. You can reheat the beans in a little olive oil and cumin first to add more flavor.

Or, cook red kidney beans from scratch after soaking and draining overnight. You add a can of tomatoe paste and some fresh crushed garlic to the water when cooking. Should come out soupy. It takes hours. You mix into white rice, freeze in portions.

This takes so much work, I'd just eat chicken.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks PPs! I forgot to mention that I did do a cilantro lime dressing on it, but we were low so maybe we need more of it -- there may not have been enough acid and maybe I needed to just do a squeeze of lime on top of it.

I like the ideas of refried beans and pickled onions, will try those next time. Also looking for a good crispy roasted chickpea recipe as those sound delicious. I think the specific thing I'm missing is that little burst of flavor when you'd get a piece of the seasoned chicken. The balance of flavors didn't necessarily feel off (plenty of seasoning, good variety) but the concentration did. I'll keep experimenting. Thanks again and keep the ideas coming!

Try fajita seasoning on tofu cubes. You need to learn to toss them in oil and cornstarch and bake until crispy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you MUST eat beans + rice though, make mujedrah.

TJ sells fresh cooked lentils in the salad area in a box that are wonderful. Mix that with white rice. Top with caramelized onions- like 5 onions, it dwindles down to nothing. And crank up exhaust vent to avoid stinking up the house. You can reheat the beans in a little olive oil and cumin first to add more flavor.

Or, cook red kidney beans from scratch after soaking and draining overnight. You add a can of tomatoe paste and some fresh crushed garlic to the water when cooking. Should come out soupy. It takes hours. You mix into white rice, freeze in portions.

This takes so much work, I'd just eat chicken.

And, you can make italian pasta fagioli soup (uses cannelini beans) and skip bacon bits. I never had it with bacon anyway. https://www.gonnawantseconds.com/pasta-e-fagioli-soup/ . Can dip bread into it.

[Anonymous]

Better sauces like salsa, chipotle mayo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks PPs! I forgot to mention that I did do a cilantro lime dressing on it, but we were low so maybe we need more of it -- there may not have been enough acid and maybe I needed to just do a squeeze of lime on top of it.

I like the ideas of refried beans and pickled onions, will try those next time. Also looking for a good crispy roasted chickpea recipe as those sound delicious. I think the specific thing I'm missing is that little burst of flavor when you'd get a piece of the seasoned chicken. The balance of flavors didn't necessarily feel off (plenty of seasoning, good variety) but the concentration did. I'll keep experimenting. Thanks again and keep the ideas coming!

Try fajita seasoning on tofu cubes. You need to learn to toss them in oil and cornstarch and bake until crispy.

I wasgoing to suggest the same, as this is what we do. I so squeeze the water out of the tofu before cubing and tossing in fajita spices/cornstarch/evoo. They roast up crispy and flavorful.