{Nourish} Blended Asian Beef Bowl with Cucumber and Carrot Salad

Is it me, or does food taste better in a bowl? There is something about the way a meal snuggles into a bowl that makes it feel so cozy and satisfying. I equally enjoy the weight of the bowl nestled into my hands. Needless to say, I have been eating out of bowls a lot lately so I was excited to create this Asian Beef Bowl recipe which spotlights a cool cooking technique called “the blend”. 

What’s the “Blend”?

The blend is a techniques that uses chopped mushrooms to enhance flavor and nutrition when cooking with ground beef. 

• Using a food processor or knife, chop up your favorite mushroom variety to match the consistency of the ground meat.
• Blend the chopped mushrooms with the ground meat.
• Cook your mushroom-meat blend the same way you would cook meat. 

Benefits of the “Blend”

• Enhance flavor. The umami in mushrooms and beef creates a mouth-watering, flavor-multiplying effect.
• Up Your Veggie Intake. I am always encouraging you to eat more vegetables and this is another fun way to do it.
• Enhance Nutrition. Blending mushrooms into beef is a great way to decrease overall fat and calories without sacrificing flavor.
• Save Money. The blend allows you to extend the portion size of meat, an expensive component to any meal. 
• Go Green. Animal proteins, especially beef, impact our environment. The blend allows you to enjoy meat in a more sustainable way by decreasing the total amount consumed. 

What’s in the Bowl?

This bowl is going to curb all of your asian food take-out cravings. With clean flavors and nourishing ingredients, this Asian Beef Bowl with Carrot and Cucumber Salad won’t leave you feeling bloated and puffy like many take-out meals do. A blend of beef and cremini mushrooms pairs perfectly with the asian flavors like soy, ginger and garlic. And the light and refreshing cucumber and carrot salad are the perfect foil to the more rich beef and mushroom blend. Nestled on a bed of jasmine rice then finished with a few cashew pieces, the textures and flavors are on point if I do say so myself.

Making Veggie Noodles

While zoodles, or zucchini noodles, may be old news, I have been exploring the other vegetables worth noodling. While the carrots were a bit more finicky, the cucumber made for a no-fuss vegetable noodle. If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can simply shred your veggies or check at your grocer. Many are selling vegetables that have already been noodled. Also, noodled is my new favorite word. Expect to see it often. 

Meal Prep Tips

• Pre-cook the rice at the beginning of the week. 
• You can cook the beef and mushroom blend at the beginning of the week as well. Just toss it into a saute pan to heat it through come meal time. 
• The carrots and cucumbers can be noodled in advance. Store them with a wet paper towel so they stay crisp. Wait until meal time to add the dressing. 

Print

Blended Asian Beef Bowl with Cucumber and Carrot Salad

Prep 10 mins

Cook 15 mins

Total 25 mins

Author Katie Cavuto

Yield 4 Servings

Ingredients

Mushroom and Beef Bowl

• 2 cups cooked, jasmine rice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup reduced sodium tamari or soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, finely chopped*
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped cashews

Cucumber Carrot Salad

• 1 large English cucumber, spiralized or thinly sliced
• 2 large carrots, spiralized or thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon lime zest
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Mushroom and Beef Bowl

1. In a small bowl, whisk together honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and ginger.
2. Heat one tablespoons of avocado oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and saute for 2-3 minutes, to brown. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.
3. In the same pan, add the remaining oil along with the onion and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.
4. Add the mushrooms back to the pan and stir to combine.
5. Stir in the sauce and simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes.
6. Serve immediately, with the rice. Garnish with cilantro and cucumber and carrot salad.

Cucumber Carrot Salad

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the rice wine vinegar, lime juice, lime zest, honey and sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Add the cucumber and carrot to the bowl and toss together.

Notes

*to chop the mushrooms, pulse in a food processor, stems and caps, until they form a ground-beef like texture

This recipe was created for the Mushroom Council.