{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. 

 

 

This recipe was created for the Mushroom Council.