Vietnamese Bowl with Sweet and Tangy Vinaigrette

Name: Vietnamese Bowl with Sweet and Tangy Vinaigrette
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 1/4 cup rice vinegar; 1/4 cup sesame oil; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 2 tablespoons honey; 4 4-ounce salmon fillets; kosher salt; canola oil; 1 cup brown rice; 1/2 head cabbage; 2 cups bean sprouts; 2 large carrots; 4 scallions; 1 cup cilantro, mint, and/or basil; 2 red Fresno chiles; 1 cup roasted salted peanuts; 1/2 cup canola oil; 1/3 cup rice vinegar; 3-4 inch ginger; 3 tablespoons lime juice; 1 tablespoon honey; 2 cloves garlic; 1 teaspoon kosher salt

by Sherman Antao · View original source

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If I were to nominate one place as ground zero for the bowl movement, I'd name Axe (pronounced ah-shay), a (sadly) now closed restaurant in Los Angeles that was serving delicious healthy food long before "eating clean" became part of our culinary lexicon. Axe bowl is what happens when a Vietnamese rice bowl meets the Santa Monica Farmers Market: a scoop of steamed quinoa or brown rice in an enormous bowl topped with shrimp, chicken, or tofu, crunchy veggies and herbs, and a sweet, tangy vinaigrette. For ordering a "bowl" at Axe was not even a matter of free will because if I ordered anything I'd find myself looking around the room with bowl envy. RIP, Axe. This bowl is naturally g-free and, like at Axe, you choose your protein: salmon, shrimp, chicken, or tofu. They all use the same marinade so you could even offer a selection, but remember not to marinate chicken with anything else because of the dangers of salmonella.

Category:: Main Course
Cuisine:: Vietnamese
Servings:: 4

Ingredients

1/4 cup rice vinegar (for the marinade)
1/4 cup sesame oil (for the marinade)
2 tablespoons soy sauce (low-sodium, or tamari; for the marinade)
2 tablespoons honey (for the marinade)
4 4-ounce salmon fillets (skinless)
kosher salt
canola oil (or another neutral-flavored oil)
1 cup brown rice (or quinoa, cooked; about 3 1/2 cups cooked grains)
1/2 head cabbage (purple, green, or napa, cored and very thinly sliced)
2 cups bean sprouts
2 large carrots (shaved into long ribbons with a U-shaped vegetable peeler)
4 scallions (white and light green parts only)
1 cup cilantro, mint, and/or basil (fresh, preferably Thai basil)
2 red Fresno chiles (or red or green serrano or jalapeño chiles, stemmed and very thinly sliced)
1 cup roasted salted peanuts (or cashews, coarsely chopped)
1/2 cup canola oil (or another neutral-flavored oil; for the vinaigrette)
1/3 cup rice vinegar (for the vinaigrette)
3-4 inch ginger (fresh, peeled and grated on a Microplane or minced (about 1 heaping tablespoon); for the vinaigrette)
3 tablespoons lime juice (fresh, about 2 limes; for the vinaigrette)
1 tablespoon honey (generous; for the vinaigrette)
2 cloves garlic (grated on a Microplane or minced; for the vinaigrette)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (for the vinaigrette)

Instructions

To prepare the protein, combine the vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and honey in a glass or ceramic baking dish or bowl, or in a large zip-top bag.
Put the fish, shrimp, chicken, or tofu in the marinade, turn to coat, and cover the bowl or close the bag. Refrigerate for 30 to 45 minutes for fish or shrimp, up to 2 hours for chicken or tofu.
Remove the protein from the marinade and season with salt.
Pour enough canola oil into a large sauté pan to coat it lightly and heat it over medium-high heat until the oil slides easily in the pan and is sizzling hot but not smoking, 2 to 3 minutes; the protein should sizzle when it hits the pan.
For salmon, put the fish in the pan rounded-side down, and cook until brown and caramelized, about 4 minutes. Carefully turn the salmon, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for about minutes, until it looks medium-rare on the side. Remove the salmon from the pan.
For shrimp, cook until they are pink and opaque on both sides, about minutes total.
For chicken, lay the chicken breasts in the skillet and cook until the first side is caramelized, about 3 minutes. Turn, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for about 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. (The juices will run clear when the chicken is pierced with a small sharp knife, and the chicken will register 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.) Remove the chicken from the skillet and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing it.
For tofu, cook until it is seared on each side, about 3 minutes per side. Remove it from the skillet and thinly slice it.
Spoon the rice into four bowls. Put one portion of protein on each bowl.
Drop a handful each of the cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots, and scallions around the protein and scatter the herbs and chiles over the top.
Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette over the vegetables and rain on the nuts. Serve the remaining vinaigrette and any remaining vegetables in little bowls on the side.
For the Sweet and Tangy Vinaigrette: Combine all the ingredients in a jar or mustard jar with a lid and give a good shake. (You could also use a bowl with a whisk.) The vinaigrette will keep, refrigerated, for up to a week.

Notes

Handwritten notes at top indicate order of operations: 1) Make marinade, 2) Make vinaigrette, 3) Make quinoa. Some instruction text obscured/cut off in original scan.