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Bowls, bowls, all types of bowls

  • Writer: Clare
    Clare
  • May 17
  • 2 min read

This post is a tribute to Leslie Jones' verse of SNL's "Back Home Ballers." It is also in honor of my friend Carl who loves a grain bowl.


"Farro is a great grain to use in your grain bowl. Love a bowl meal." -Carl

But actually, it's about how to assemble a delicious bowl for an easy, nutritious, and delicious meal. To assemble a good bowl, you can't just throw things together. Well, you can, but you'll have a much more enjoyable and satisfying meal if you put some thought into it. Here are my tips.


Fig. 1 - The Anatomy of a Bowl


At the most basic level, a bowl consists of some sort of carb-y base topped with various other filling and nutritious components and garnished with delicious things that provide flavor and texture contrast. From there, the possibilities are endless! When I'm creating a bowl, I tend to consider a cuisine or flavor genre to give it some focus. When thinking about flavor and ingredient combinations, I love to refer to Julia Turshen's meal charts for inspiration.


Bowl Ingredients

A Non-Exhaustive List of Possibilities


Core Components


Carbs

Carbs
  • Rice of any type

  • Quinoa, farro, or other grains

  • Couscous

  • Pasta

  • Mashed potatoes

  • Yogurt or hummus (not really carbs, but they can be a nice base for a bowl)





Vegetables

Any vegetable works, so I'm not just going to list every single vegetable in the world. The variety here comes from how you prepare the veggies:

  • Cook: Sautéed, roasted, steamed, blanched, stir-fried, grilled, or raw

  • Cut: Sliced, diced, whole, or julienned

  • Seasoning: make sure to season your veggies well, taking into account the other flavors you plan to incorporate into your bowl!




Proteins
  • Meat

  • Beans

  • Tofu

  • Yogurt or hummus

  • Eggs - hard boiled, soft boiled, or fried

  • Cottage cheese if you want to gross yourself out




Flavor



Sauce
  • Hot sauce (e.g., Marie Sharp's, harissa, Calabrian chili)

  • Herby sauce (e.g., pesto or chimichurri)

  • Mayo or aioli

  • Chutney

  • Relish

  • Chili crisp

  • Common condiments - ketchup (but please be more creative), honey mustard, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, barbecue sauce, etc.




Pickly things
  • Pickled vegetables, like onions or jalapeños

  • Plain old pickled cucumbers

  • Kimchi

  • Sauerkraut

  • Olives

  • Relish

  • Giardiniera






Herbs
  • Cilantro

  • Parsley

  • Dill

  • Tarragon

  • Scallions

  • Chives

  • Basil

  • Mint





Textural Contrast



Something crunchy
  • Bread crumbs (toss them in olive oil and toast them in a pan)

  • Croutons

  • Fried onions or shallots

  • Nuts

  • Bacon bits

  • Tortilla chip or potato chip crumbles

  • Pepitas

  • Crunchy vegetables, like radish





Something creamy
  • Cheese

  • Mexican Crema or Creme Fraiche

  • Sour cream

  • Mayo

  • Yogurt or yogurt-based sauces, like tzatziki


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