Coconut Rice Fall Veggie Bowl, full of wonderful colors of Fall and the produce that this season blesses us with. Roasted acorn squash, stir fried veggies, and some beautiful crisp shredded lettuce, to freshen things up a bit. Dressed with a Sesame Wasabi Mayo dressing.
Coconut Rice Fall Veggie Bowl. A dish that exemplifies the colors and tastes of fall. Utilizing acorn squash, some peppers, two kinds of zucchini, and fresh crisp lettuce, taking us on a textural journey. I have to say that rice bowls are high up on my list of favorite recipes or dishes to make. I love the diverse flavor combinations, the use of sweet and spicy, the coconut rice, aromatic and nutty, and that dressing that just bites you in the end, keeping your interest intact. What a way to say Autumn.
I remember the first time I had coconut rice. It was 2005, at a local Thai restaurant called The Red Curry Thai Restaurant. I could not believe the flavors of this rice. The aroma had me falling in love with this rice. Bite after bite, nutty, sweet, and combined with the red curry chicken I had with it, WOW!
Coconut Rice Fall Veggie Bowl, The Inspiration Begins.
I am not a huge fan of Autumn, one being that it is the sign that summer has ended, and the other means winter is around the corner. Well for us here in central Alberta Canada, it was a very sharp corner and it looks like winter has stepped into fall. The one good thing is the produce that is flooding the Old Strathcona Farmers Market. Lovely squashes, peppers, cabbage, last of the tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, beets, (remember to breath!), onions and celery, etc. Heaven for those of us who love making comfort, hearty, warm me up, so damn delicious recipes. Our usual Saturday market run, brought us back so great produce and in the roster, a beautiful sweet acorn squash from Sunrise Gardens (even our cats love them, since every Saturday we buy there fresh wheatgrass for them). Immediately, Nicoletta had an ah ha moment and said, "this would be great in a rice bowl dish." There you have it, inspiration complete and our recipe for Coconut Rice Fall Veggie Bowl is born.
This dish is a lot of fun to make, utilizing many cooking styles and textures, along with a dichotomy of sweet and savory flavors, that have you diving in two chopsticks at a time for another bite. The steps of this dish are quite simple. The rice always follow suggested cooking methods on package. The squash a quick cleaning and cut into half round slices, placed in the oven to roast till soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. While those were baking I stir fried the veggies that Nicoletta so nicely chopped for me. I love that she has all this prepared for me. It is like walking into a studio kitchen, and everything is ready to go. She also had the squash ready, so more than 80 percent of this recipe was done by Nicoletta. When rice squash and veggies are cooked, it is time to assemble. A nice portion of coconut rice on the bottom, some veggies placed artistically on the rice along with the acorn squash, some fresh crisp lettuce shreds, and now for the dressing. In a squeeze bottle, a beautiful drizzle over the top I also made a side ramekin of sweet chili vinaigrette which I like to pour over the top just to add another level of flavor and acidity to this dish, and it works so well with the coconut rice and veggies.
The flavors are amazing from the soft and crispy sweetness of the squash, to the sizzled stir fry zucchinis, and peppers, and not to mention the crisp fresh lettuce all dressed in that pungent, semi sweet and spicy sesame wasabi mayo that adds that ever so sneaky punch at the end. If you do use the sweet chili vinegar, it adds such a nice acidity to the mix, and with that oh so aromatic nutty coconut rice seems strange yet so magical and delicious. I hope you enjoy this Autumn colorfully flavor packed Coconut Rice Fall Veggie Bowl as much as we did. Get to your local farmers market and start enjoying all those fall jewels.
Enjoy!
Song of the day: "Come a little Closer." by Cage The Elephant.
PrintCoconut Rice Fall Veggie Bowl
- Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
Squash:
- 1 small acorn squash
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon herb blend (basil, oregano, sage, thyme)
- Salt and pepper
Stir Fry:
- 1 zucchini
- 1 yellow zucchini
- 1 red pepper
- 1 orange pepper
- 1 green onion chopped
- 1 Tbsp Lemongrass
- 1 tsp Ginger
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- Pinch of Chinese all spice
- 2 tablespoons vegetable stock
- Salt and pepper to taste
Rice:
- ¼ cup Coconut milk
- 1 cup Jasmine rice
- 1 and ¾ cups water (for the rice)
- Salt and pepper
- ½ cup shredded lettuce
Sesame Wasabi Mayo dressing:
- ¼ cup mayo
- 1 tsp wasabi
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ¼ tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Squash:
- Slice squash in half, and scoop out seeds and pulp.
- Cut squash into half round slices approx 1 cm thick.
- Dress with olive oil, a mix of dried herbs (we used our homemade oregano, sage, thyme, basil mix), salt and pepper.
- Place on baking sheet and into a pre heated 375° F oven for about 20 minutes.
Rice:
- In a medium sauce pan add rice, coconut milk, water, a dash of salt, cover and bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Turn off heat and keep covered.
Veggies:
- In a wok heat up 1 tablespoon of canola oil and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil.
- Toss in red pepper, orange pepper, zucchini, yellow zucchini. Stir fry for about 10 minutes.
- Add in garlic, ginger, and lemon grass, five spice, and stir fry for another minute.
- Add in a couple of tablespoons of vegetable broth. Reduce and take off heat.
Sesame Wasabi Dressing:
- In a bowl whisk mayo, wasabi, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, sugar, hoisin sauce, salt and pepper to taste.
- Place in squeezable bottle.
Assembly:
- Fork rice to fluff it up a bit and place a nice amount in a bowl.
- Arrange veggies and squash, and add a small handful of shredded lettuce to the bowl.
- Drizzle the dressing over the top.
- Ready to serve.
- Enjoy!
Notes
For the dressing, substitute with vegan mayo for a vegan option.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 servings
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When I am not cooking, I enjoy playing musical instruments, singing, writing. I have learned over the years to live in gratitude and enjoy the moment.
Demeter | Beaming Baker says
Loreto, these photos are absolutely gorgeous! I just want to dive straight into the bowl! Love that this recipe was made with both of your efforts. 🙂 Coconut rice has always been one of my faves. I'm so happy to see it featured so beautifully with all of these lovely veggies and that amazing drizzle! Thank you for including a vegan option! 🙂 Totally wishing I had this for dinner right now. Have a lovely week you two! 🙂
Thanks Demeter, you are so kind, love your comments. I have to give the credit to Nicoletta for the pictures, she does such a fabulous job doesn't she. The drizzle was so good, such interesting combinations of flavors, and thanks to mother nature for the wonderful fall produce season.
Have a wonderful week too.
Loreto out!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
What a tasty looking bowl and such a great way to use the best of the season! Everything looks so good! Hubby and I regularly eat coconut rice. I absolutely adore anything coconut...coconut flavoured food and coconut scented products, so this is calling my name. That sesame wasabi mayo sounds delicious too. I bet this would be delicious on just about anything!
Hi Dawn, thank you for all those kind words. I believe that that dressing would be good on anything. It had such a wonderful subdued flavor. I am with you on the coconut thing. It has such a wonderful scent when you are cooking the rice. Cooking Jasmine on its own is usually aromatic. Add in the coconut milf ans wow!
Thanks again
Cheers!
Loreto
Anne Murphy says
What beautifully balanced flavors! Love all the vegetables! The dressing sounds wonderful.
Thank you Anne. I just love all the color and when the taste matches the beautiful colors there is nothing but a good recipe made. The dressing was perfect to all those wonderful veggies and that coconut rice with its nuttiness and aromatics married so well with all the other components of this dish.
Veena Azmanov says
That looks like a perfect bowl of heaven. I love coconut and rice combination. Those veggies look perfect. Saving this for later - YUM!
gingeredwhisk says
I love that you made this so autumn friendly with tons of great in-season produce! And that dressing! YUM! It all sounds and looks amazing!
Thank you, it was a lot of fun being creative and making it and the flavors married so well together.
Have a great day!
Loreto
Alicia Taylor at Taylorlife.com says
This looks so yummy! The shapes and the textures are a feast for the eyes.
Thank you Alicia, we really appreciate you comment.
Have a great day!
Loreto
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health says
love the idea of coconut rice!!!
Hi Dixya, yes coconut rice is so aromatic and has that nuttiness that goes so well with Thai food. Thanks for commenting, and have a wonderful weekend.
Loreto
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
The flavors here bring a big smile to my face, coconut rice, squash, the kick from wasabi mayo. It's a feast of flavors!
Amanda Mason says
Ok first off this looks amazing but these fall vegetables!! I'm so lin love!! Oh my goodness! And I love that this dish also had coconut in it! I bet this tastes amazing!!
Hi Amanda, This veggie bowl is fantastic. I like the colors of fall and the produce that comes this time of year. Try this one out I am sure you will really enjoy it!
Cheers!
Loreto
kate says
What a great idea. I love coconut rice and I haven't had it forever. I bet it's amazing with the dressing you have here. Can't wait to try it!
Hi Kate, yes the dressing went so well with the rice and the veggies. I jst adore bowls like these with all the components contributing to the totality of what the dish exemplifies. Thanks for taking the time to comment, much appreciated!
Happy Sunday!
Loreto
michelleferrand says
This is the perfect fall bowl of goodness! Yum!
Thanks Michelle, I love the colors of fall and it is a great way to incorporate that deliciousness visually, but I have to say aromatically this bowl will hook you in!
Happy Cooking
Loreto
neuroticbaker says
This looks and sound so delicious! My son loves coconut rice and I bet I could get him to eat the veggies too 🙂
Hi Cheryl, I think you are on to someting. I truly think this would be a great way for kids to eat their veggies, might have to put less wasabi, would hate to see a child go through that nose burn. I would love to hear your feed backand see if your son liked it. Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Have a great day!
Loreto
prasanna hede says
Love coconut rice plus the dressing sounds so amazing to try! Love all the veggies you have used and most of all is addition of lemongrass! wonderful bowl to dive in 🙂
Hi Prasanna , lemon grass is one of my most favorite spices to use. I love its brightness and citrus edge that it has and it marries so well with the coiconut rice and all those veggies. This bowl was a pure delight to eat. Thank you for checking it out.
Cheers!
Loreto
Lois. O says
I love coconut rice! Top that these delicious vegetables and the wasabi dressing. I will be trying this next week.
Hi Lois, I am so happy you like this one. I love that kick the wasabi gave to the dish and the aromatics of the coconut rice and roasted vegetables just capitvates you and leads you right in for the taste. Thanks a bunch for commenting, and happy cooking!
Loreto
babylovesberry says
I agree on a coconut rice, it's just so full of flavor and so aromatic!
Thank you, I still remember the first time I ate coconut rice, I was so surprised and became a huge fam emmediately.
Happy cooking!
loreto