Broccoli Brown Rice Bowl with Almond Satay Sauce

This Broccoli Brown Rice Bowl with Almond Satay Sauce is so satisfying and flavourful you’ll want to eat it day after day. Loaded with healthy ingredients like broccoli, kale, roasted red pepper and brown rice, not only is it delicious, it’s highly nutritious too. All that healthy goodness is topped off with crispy coconut bacon and perfectly sweet almond satay sauce that might just have you licking the bowl.

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Almond Satay Sauce

I scoured the internet for an authentic satay sauce recipe and came across many different variations. I found recipes made with a range of different ingredients from lime, to tamarind, to ginger, to coconut milk, to sweet chili sauce and red curry paste. I discovered there’s such a thing as sweet soy sauce, or kecap manis, that’s thicker and sweeter than traditional soy sauce and is often used in satay sauce recipes. And from what I can tell, authentic Thai satay sauce uses tamarind paste, brown sugar and peanuts, does not contain lime or ginger, and making it involve sautéing onions and garlic before simmering them with the rest of the ingredients. Thai folks correct me if I’m wrong.

As much as I wanted to keep this satay sauce authentic, I also wanted to keep it as simple as possible, so I kind of cheated by using sweet chili sauce instead of sautéing onion and garlic. There are few moving pieces in this bowl so I wanted to keep the sauce really easy. It worked out great though and the end result is an flavourful, creamy and delicious almond satay sauce that is absolutely perfect for this bowl.

I used almond butter instead of peanut butter or crushed roasted peanuts but you can use peanut butter if you prefer. Just make sure you use natural peanut butter with no added sugar or oils.

Other Sauce Options

This bowl would work well with some of the other sauces I’ve shared. If you want to switch it up, try my:

• Coconut Peanut Dressing
• Low Fat Peanut Dressing
• Sweet and Spicy Almond Lime Dressing
• Cold Noodle Salad with Spicy Peanut Lime Sauce

You could also switch up the tofu, and try my Black Pepper Garlic Tofu, BBQ Tofu or Curried Tofu.

How to Make Coconut Bacon

If you’re in a pinch or you don’t feel like making coconut bacon (although I highly recommend that you do!), you can go ahead and use coconut flakes or better yet, toasted coconut. If you have the time, you’ve gotta try making a batch of coconut bacon. It’s really easy to make and can be kept in the pantry for weeks and added to salads, bowls, sandwiches, tofu scrambles and even smoothie bowls.

Most coconut bacon recipes call for liquid smoke but it can be hard to find and I can’t be bothered to buy it just for coconut bacon, so I make mine without it. I use tamari, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar and smoked paprika. The apple cider vinegar isn’t required but I like the tanginess it adds. I’ve made coconut bacon with just tamari and maple sryup and it still tastes great though.

The most important thing with coconut bacon is to make sure it cooks evenly and doesn’t burn. To do this, you’ll have to keep a close eye on it while it’s baking. Here are a few tips for making coconut bacon:

• for extra flavour, let the coconut flakes marinate in the sauce for 5 minutes
• make sure you use raw coconut flakes, not sweetened and not shredded coconut
• make sure it’s spread out evenly on the pan, with minimal overlapping
• after 5 minutes, stir and then place back in the oven, again making sure it’s evenly spaced and not overlapping too much
• continue to check it every 2-3 minutes until dark brown and starting to slightly blacken at the edges
• watch carefully as it’s getting close to being done as it will burn easily
• total baking time should be about 10-12 minutes
• let it cool completely before storing, it will harden up and become crispy as it cools

Broccoli Brown Rice Bowl with Almond Satay Sauce

Alright, so we talked about the almond satay sauce and coconut bacon…what else is in this bowl? I added brown rice, kale, steamed broccoli and grated carrot and it all comes together beautifully with the creamy almond satay sauce and sweet and salty, crunchy coconut bacon. So many flavours, so many textures, so much goodness!

Nutrition Details

This bowl is vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, refined sugar-free and high in fibre and nutrients.