Sauces for Rice and Noodle Bowls?

[ceeveg]

I love beans and rice, and also veggie bowls over rice/noodles. But I want to be more adventurous in my sauces.

Do any of you have favorite combinations of flavors for beans and rice or tofu/broccoli/rice bowls or veggies and noodles? Preferably vegan?

My current favorite is a little braggs with purple onion, broccoli and smoked tofu over brown rice with nutritional yeast and a little more braggs on top.

Thank you SO much!!

[425lisamarie]

Well if I want more of a "sauce" and something substantial I do a sunbutter sauce. I keep the house peanut free for DD and I cook for an anaphylactic family sometimes and don't want it around.

Or chickpea gravy type is really good. I just saute some onions, garlic, mushrooms, thyme, salt/pepper, then add to a blender with some cooked chickpeas or white beans and puree with enough water/broth to make a sauce.

[ceeveg]

Those sound great! Thank you!

[MsVyky]

I love black bean sauce. not the icky, sugary/HFCS stuff at the grocery store but the salty, chunky fermented stuff from Chinatown

[Earth Momma]

we do a lot of pureed veggie sauces...
roasted red peppers and steamed cauliflower - just toss it all in the blender (you may have to add a little water),
carmelized onions and butternut suash,
I put broccoli or spinach or kale with pesto ( the kids would eat anything with pesto on it),
I put pureed sweet potatoes in maranara sauce
steamed and pureed cauliflower with you favorite spices (spicy - cayanne pepper flakes, garlic and a little nutritional yeast, curry pwder, rosemary, etc)
Often I make a double or triple batch, put the "sauce" in a freezer bag and toss it in the freezer and thats our "fast" food!!

[eepster]

You can do a basic brown sauce.

After frying vegetables or tofu in a pan/wok, leave the oil/juices in the pan/wok. Deglaze with a bit of vegetable broth, add soy sauce, and thicken on a low heat with cornstarch disolved in a bit of cold water or broth.

[es1967]

Originally Posted by eepster

You can do a basic brown sauce.

After frying vegetables or tofu in a pan/wok, leave the oil/juices in the pan/wok. Deglaze with a bit of vegetable broth, add soy sauce, and thicken on a low heat with cornstarch disolved in a bit of cold water or broth.

Thats a great idea. I never thought of using some broth.
What type of noodles do you use? I just picked up some Udon and Soba noodles at World market and they are so reasonable vs Whole Foods. They were even organic.

[eepster]

Originally Posted by es1967

Thats a great idea. I never thought of using some broth.
What type of noodles do you use? I just picked up some Udon and Soba noodles at World market and they are so reasonable vs Whole Foods. They were even organic.

I usually only do brown sauce to go with rice.

With soba noodles: I usually put soy sauce in the cooking water (that gets poured off,) the noodles absorb just enough while cooking. I find that the soy sauce is just too strong if you add it after cooking (this probably varies by brand/style.) After draining well, I toss the noodles with; toasted sesame oil, nori cut into slivers, and sesame seeds. This is best served cold. (If you put it away to cool for a while cover it tightly or the top noodle dry out.) I've done variations of this with other sea vegetables and different oils.

I've only done udon in soup.

[red and lulu]

I use this simple sesame sauce for noodles and such a lot:

1/4 c reduced sodium tamari
2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp sesame oil
a couple pinches crushed red pepper flakes (add less if you don't like spicy)
a dash of brown rice vinegar
a little squeeze of lime juice

[Ahimsa]

Creamy Nut Sauce:

1/2 c Cashews
1/2 c Any other nut or seed (I have used brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, pepitas, almonds, walnuts, etc.)
2 cups Water
2-3 Tbs of Tapioca Flour or Ener-G egg replacer or other thickener (you may have to adjust the amount)

Seasonings (I have a few versions, and I don't measure; I just taste test it. It is hard to overdo the herbs.)
~Thyme, Braggs, Pepper, Wee bit of Nutmeg
~2 Herbes de Provence, Braggs, Pepper, Wee bit of Nutmeg
~Dill, Braggs, Pepper, Wee bit of Nutmeg
~Poultry Seasoning, Nutritional Yeast, Braggs, Pepper

Blend all ingredients in blender.
Cook on stove 5-10 min to thicken.

This sauce is so yummy and filling! It is my own version of a recipe that I got from The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook by Cathe Olson. Her version called for butter, used only cashews, and was seasoned with thyme. I realized that it was just as good without the butter, and that other nuts and seeds combined with cashews worked well too. It is especially good over cruciferous veggies.