Malaysian satay veggie bowl!

When growing up with a Malaysian mother, I developed a love for all things Asian, including food. At the moment, I am loving these veggie bowls! They are super easy but you can also be so creative. In saying that, the other week I was craving Malaysian satay, so I thought, "why not make it into a veggie bowl?" So that’s exactly what I did!

It's super simple and it's full of those Malaysian flavours I was craving! I marinated some hard tofu and sweet potato and then roasted these to get that western influence. I made a simple satay sauce which can be easily adapted to your taste. I added some veggies with a variety of colour and texture to ensure I am getting enough nutrients, particularly phytochemicals in my food. For some fibre I used quinoa, however you can use rice or anything you prefer! One tip when making these type of bowls is to ensure you cook the vegetables to a minimum to get the most benefit.

After making this recipe, I suggest also adding cucumber and lime as well, to give some freshness to the dish. You can easily add or change the vegetables to your liking as well :)

Anyway, I won’t keep you waiting too long, so here is the recipe plus I made a video of myself making it! I hope you enjoy and be sure to tag @preventivelifestyle if you give this recipe a go!

Malaysian satay veggie bowl (serves 4)

Ingredients (for satay sauce)

1. 2 cups unsalted peanuts (can also use peanut butter if you prefer)

2. 2-3 cloves garlic

3. 1 stalk of lemon grass

4. 1 tsp ginger powder

5. 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional if you like it spicy)

6. 1 piece of tamarind (dried) (you can also replace with lime juice or anything acidic/sour)

7. 1/3 cup sugar

8. 2 tbs soy sauce (adjust depending on taste)

9. 1 cup water (adjust to liking, I prefer a runnier sauce)

Ingredients (for toppings):

1. 1 block hard tofu (diced)

2. 2 tsp soy sauce

3. 1 tsp sesame oil

4. 2 medium sweet potatoes (diced)

5. 1 tbs olive oil

6. 1 large bunch bok choi

7. 2-3 carrots (julienne)

8. 1 cup shredded purple cabbage

9. 1 cup quinoa

10. Salt & pepper

Method (for satay sauce)

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor, blend until desired consistency, taste and season depending on own preference

2. Leave aside a small amount to put over tofu

3. Place the rest of the satay sauce in a small sauce pan and simmer (you may need to add water if you would like the sauce to be runny)

4. Serve on top of veg bowl hot

Method (for toppings)

1. Prepare diced tofu and diced sweet potatoes on baking trays. Marinade the tofu with soy sauce and sesame and the sweet potato with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake in moderate oven for 30 mins or until golden

2. Around half way, take out the tofu and coat with part of the satay sauce (this is optional, makes to tofu a bit sticky and adds flavour) and bake until golden

3. Prepare all vegetables and leave aside. For bok choi I simply stir fried in a small frying pan with sesame oil and a little bit of soy sauce

4. Cook quinoa according to packet instructions

5. Serve in a bowl once everything is cooked, top with peanuts, lime and enjoy :D

I hope you get to try this dish! Comment below if you enjoyed it! Thanks!