Serves 4
This is the kind of brown rice bowl that we find acceptable. If you’ve seen Harry’s TEDx Talk or been to a workshop, you’ll know his journey into wholefoods started almost as a reaction to how annoyingly bad most health-food shop brown-rice dishes were back in the naughties. Seasoned and paired with the right ingredients, though, they can be fun – we promise.
This is one of those classic vegan dishes to which you can add a poached egg. The addition of the unpasteurised miso and seaweed gives extra nutritional punch, as does the magic of fresh shiitake mushrooms.
1 2/3 cups (400 g) brown rice (if you can, soak it for 4–8 hours in filtered water, then drain and rinse, otherwise rinse it very well)
2 tablespoons sushi vinegar or rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 cups (150 g) fresh shiitake or oyster mushrooms
4 tablespoons unpasteurised white miso paste (from health-food shops, and Egg of the Universe)
½ daikon, spiralised to form noodles (or grated)
1 small Lebanese (short) cucumber, shaved into ribbons (with a peeler, mandolin or spiraliser)
2 colourful radishes (red, rainbow or black), thinly sliced on a mandolin
50 g (1¾ oz) dried wakame, soaked in boiling water for 3–5 minutes, then drained
1 tablespoon kimchi (page 239)
2 spring onions (scallions), cut into matchsticks
1 handful coriander (cilantro) leaves
1 teaspoon dried dulse flakes (from health-food shops, and Egg of the Universe)
1 sheet nori, coarsely torn
1 handful snow pea shoots
1 tablespoon toasted white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon toasted black sesame seeds
Dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon tamari
2 teaspoons mirin
Juice of ½ lime
½ garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon minced ginger
Cook rice in plenty of salted boiling water for 15–20 minutes – you want to retain some texture but definitely don’t undercook it. Drain well, then stir the vinegar through. Cool.
Heat a char-grill pan over high heat to smoking hot. Mix peanut and sesame oils, brush mushrooms with oils, then grill on both sides so they char nicely but maintain their raw quality through the middle, 1–2 minutes each side. Slice into thick bite-sized pieces.
For the dressing, whisk ingredients well and leave to infuse until needed.
Smear bowls with a tablespoonful of miso or place a small serving dish of miso in the base of each bowl. Divide rice among bowls, then add daikon, cucumber and radish. Nestle wakame, kimchi and mushrooms around, then spoon the dressing over the top. Garnish with spring onion, coriander, dulse, nori, shoots and sesame seeds – and prepare to not be bored senseless by brown rice!