A quick and easy hearty bowl of rice, greens, herbs, spices and fermented veggies. Pak dong is a Thai sweet and spicy pickled cabbage and carrot. It’s juices make the perfect dressing and the sweet and spicy vegetables are the perfect texture, nice and crunchy.
Every 1-2 months I make a gallon of pak dong for easy lunches and dinners. My absolute favorite dish to make a couple times a week, is what I call a mixin’ meal bowl. It has protein, nutrients, minerals, probiotics, and essential fatty acids!
If you are in the upstate NY area, you can buy pak dong from Pucker’s Gourmet; they are at many farmer’s markets around the area. They also stock natural local stores such as Adirondack Whole Foods. I’m pretty sure you can also have them mail it to you. I however eat so much pak dong I had to replicate the recipe as best I could. However nothing will beat the Kentucky whisky barrels they use to ferment in.
The first layer is rice, my favorite is forbidden rice because it has a unique sweet nutty flavor, but brown rice is also good.
Then I drizzle a little tamari/soy sauce on top.
The second layer is greens, any kind of greens you like, kale, swiss chard, mustard greens, arugula, or all the above!
The third layer is Pak Dong which is conveniently ready in the refrigerator at all times.
The fourth and final layer is all the extra added goodies. I love to add some chopped scallions, spirulina, cherry tomatoes, basil, cilantro, dill, and if I’m really in the mood extra hot peppers, and garlic. Sometimes I’ll add a little sesame oil on top too.
Because I make this dish and other rice dishes so often, I bought a $30 rice cooker so I can set it and forget it until I’m ready. It takes about 30 minutes to make forbidden rice and it goes to warm if you don’t get to it right away.
If there is leftover rice, I store it in the refrigerator and save it for the next day. I don’t mind eating the rice cold on a hot summer day, but in the winter to heat it up, all I do is add some coconut oil to my cast iron pan on medium low, add the rice, a little tamari/soy sauce, and diced onions. I’m not sure what I like more fresh rice, or second day coconut oil fried rice. Yum!
I love making this dish for friends and family when we get together for lunch or dinner, because it’s so nutritious and easy to make. I’ve shared this many times and haven’t had one person not like it! It’s an explosion of flavor, sweet and spicy.
Pak Dong Mixin' Meal Bowl
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup rice; measured uncooked
- 1 cup pak dong
- 1 cup greens
- 1/2 cup tomatoes
- 1/4 cup herbs; basil cilantro and dill
- 1 scallion
- 1 tbsp spirulina
- 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
INSTRUCTIONS
- Make the rice, per the instructions.
- Cut up greens, herbs, and scallions.
- Add1/2 cup rice to each bowl.
- Drizzle a little soy sauce in each bowl.
- Add 1/2 cup greens to each bowl.
- Add 1/2 cup pak dong to each bowl.
- Add 1/4 cup of cherry tomatoes to each bowl.
- Sprinkle herbs, scallions, and spirulina evenly across bowls.