Full of wholesome ingredients, this vegan power bowl is gluten-free and features forbidden rice, mango and sriracha tofu for a colorful, nutritious meal.
Sriracha Tofu Power Bowl with Forbidden Rice and Mango
You know when you go to the grocery store and accidentally grab every new product/superfood/somewhat-interesting-looking-item down the aisles so you have to get a food storage shelf in your bedroom because you’re an actual food hoarder? Oh, me neither.
No but really, that’s me. I love grocery shopping. I love walking slooooow down the aisles to look at every single product to see if something new came out. Some people love buying lots of shoes; I love buying lots of plants. Plants > shoes.
Sometimes this overzealousness at the store leads to many products sitting on my shelves for a long time before I use them up (probably past their expiration dates, but they’re wrong anyway, right?).
Such is the case with the couple cups of black rice (or forbidden rice – so scandalous) I purchased on impulse from the bulk aisle at Whole Foods. I swear I’ve had that damn jar of black rice for two years…
For some reason I just never got around to cooking it. But recently I’ve been trying to make an effort to use the pantry items I already have rather than buying more I don’t need. It’s harder than it sounds, folks. So when I was brainstorming recipe ideas, I remembered my long-forgotten jar of black rice and said, ALAS, the time has come.
How to Build Your Vegan Power Bowl
I regret taking so long to cook this forbidden rice, because turns out it’s delicious – especially with all the other fixings in these power bowls. Here are all the components we’ve got going on:
- Forbidden Rice. Of course! It’s so satisfyingly chewy and filling.
- Sriracha Tofu. Perfectly marinated and pressed ahead of time so that it’s not nasty & mushy
- Veggies. Pick your favorite! Something super fresh and crisp like carrots, cucumbers & red cabbage are delicious in these vegan power bowls.
- Mango. Big juicy, delicious slices add a mouthful of sweetness. Who doesn’t love that?
- Sriracha tahini sauce. It’s creamy, it’s dreamy and you absolutely need it in your life and all over this power bowl of course.
- Avocado. Because, duh.
So uhmmmm, yes I’ll take a forbidden rice bowl every day for the rest of my life please.
If you need an easy, healthy, plant-powered meal to impress dinner guests, this is the recipe for you! Let everyone build their own bowls and dig into the deliciousness of black rice, mango, tofu, and veggies. Oh, and don’t forget the sauce!
Perfect for Vegan Meal Prep
You guys know how much I love POWER BOWLS. These are no exception. I love them because you can prepare all of the elements separately, then decide how much of each you want. Aka heaping spoonfuls of forbidden rice drowning in Sriracha tahini sauce.
I enjoyed these for dinner, but it was almost even better to enjoy the leftovers for lunch the next day. Easily packable meals I can take on-the-go to class or work are always winners for me.🏆
These power bowls are truly the perfect idea for your weekly meal prep because each components holds up well in the fridge and you can mix up the ratios of ingredients each day to keep it exciting. If you’re craving a salad on Monday, add more veggies and some greens! If you’re super hungry on Thursday, add in extra rice and tofu!
Simply cook your rice, chop your mango and veggies, cook up the tofu and mix up your sauce and then store each component in the fridge. If you like to mix it up throughout the week, I recommend storing each item separately so you can build your lunch fresh each morning. However, if you’re super short on time, you can easily assemble each power bowl for lunch and store the items together. I recommend still keeping the sauce separate and adding when you’re ready to enjoy.
How to Make Sriracha Tofu
Okay this Sriracha tofu is seriously so delicious, but even better it’s seriously so easy to make! The key is in the marinade. The spiciness from the Sriracha goes so well with the mango and the forbidden rice.
Before you even think about marinating your tofu, I highly recommend you press it first. We want our Sriracha tofu to be flavorful and crispy in our power bowl, not bland and soggy. Tofu is like a sponge in that it soaks up whatever liquid it’s added to. That makes marinading the perfect method for flavoring tofu because it’ll soak up all that deliciousness, but not if it’s already full of the brine it’s packaged in.
Wrap the tofu in a few paper towels or a dish towel and place it on a plate, a cutting board or in the sink. Then grab something heavy (a cast iron skillet is perfect for this), place it on top of the tofu and let it sit for at least 15 minutes.
While your tofu is being pressed, grab your soy sauce, vinegar, starch, sesame oil, ginger, garlic powder and of course your Sriracha and mix it all up to build your marinade. Once the tofu is pressed, add it to the marinade, toss it up and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. You could go as long as 30 minutes if you’d like to really lock in all that flavor for your power bowl.
This Sriracha tofu bakes in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Once your it’s nice and crispy, pull it out of the oven and let it cool slightly before adding to your power bowl.
How to Cook Forbidden Rice
The forbidden rice is the perfect addition to these vegan power bowls. It’s chewy, has a slightly nutty flavor and provides the most satiating base for all the other components.
While forbidden rice definitely looks pretty different than the white and brown rice you’ve probably got in the back of your pantry, the cooking method is going to be fairly similar!
Before cooking, you’ll want to rinse and strain your forbidden rice. I’m sure you’ve seen this step with other rice cooking methods, and forbidden rice is no different! When you take the extra step to rinse your rice, you remove excess starches from the grains that can lead to clumping.
Then to cook your rice, you’ll want to use a 2:1 ratio of water to rice. So in this forbidden rice bowl I’m cooking one cup of rice in two cups of water. Bring your water and rice up to a boil, then once it’s there reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 40-45 minutes until the water is absorbed and you’re left with a beautiful, tender and chewy pot of forbidden rice for your power bowls.
More Vegan Power Bowls
From simple dinners, to build-it-yourself entertaining, to packable meal prep lunches, there’s not much that these Sriracha Tofu Power Bowls aren’t good for. If you’re craving more vegan power bowl recipes, check out one of these bowls from Emilie Eats!
- Black Bean Power Bowl with Avocado Pesto
- Jerk Tofu Vegetable and Rice Bowl
- Vegan Poke Bowl (gluten-free)
- Greek Quinoa Power Bowl
- Rice Bowl with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Sriracha Tofu Power Bowl with Forbidden Rice and Mango
Full of wholesome ingredients, this vegan power bowl features forbidden rice, mango and sriracha tofu for a colorful, nutritious meal
Ingredients
- 1 cup black rice
- 1 14-ounce package extra-firm tofu
- 2 tablespoons organic soy sauce or liquid aminos
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tapioca starch (optional, for extra crispiness)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 mango, sliced
- 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
- 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1 cup red cabbage, chopped
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1/2 lime, juiced
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Cilantro for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Drain the tofu. Wrap in several paper towels; place in the sink. Place a heavy object (such as a large pot with a heavy weight inside) on top of the tofu to press the water out. You can also use a tofu press. Let the tofu drain for 15-20 minutes.
- Rinse rice well. In a medium pot, place rice and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce to simmer. Cook for 40-45 minutes, until rice is tender and chewy.
- Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease a baking sheet with oil or cooking spray.
- Cut tofu into 1/2-inch chunks. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, starch, sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha, ginger, and garlic powder. Add tofu; toss to combine. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Place tofu in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, until crispy on the edges.
- While the rice and tofu are cooking, slice and chop your vegetables. Prepare the sauce by whisking together tahini, water, lime juice, Sriracha, and salt and pepper.
- To make your bowl, add a scoop of rice, 1/4 of the tofu, mango slices, carrots, cucumbers, red cabbage, and avocado slices. Drizzle with the tahini sauce and garnish with cilantro.
