Buddha bowls — colorful bowls usually composed of vegetables, healthy grains, and protein.
Lemongrass Shrimp Rice Bowls
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
It’s time for #FishFridayFoodies and this month was my turn to host, which essentially was choosing the theme for the blogging group. And for this outing, I chose Buddha Bowls, which would include seafood of some sort with vegetables or fruits and a healthy grain, basically a healthy one-bowl meal.
For my part, I chose lemongrass shrimp with brown rice, since it is almost the same as a bun tom type Vietnamese dish except with the healthy brown rice instead of rice vermicelli. I have always loved this sort of thing.
I know the recipe list looks horrendous- because you have to make several things, such as pickling the carrots so they have that nice flavor, as well as making the shrimp marinade and the sauces on top of the chopping of veggies. But the shrimp themselves only take a few minutes to cook, and the sauce, marinade, and pickle brine are all worth the effort by far.
I also think this is a great meal to have during days of summer heat, since you can prep most things ahead, including the rice and shrimp, and just piece it together during that hottest part of the day around dinnertime.
And it is sort of like an Asian noodle salad (albeit this one with rice) so the serve temp is not that hot and is pretty much at room temp. And although you don’t see it in the photo, I like serving mine with sambal passed at the table. The sambal is quite like sriracha if you’re familiar with that except the sambal is served fresh and not fermented and strained at all. I love it. I do hope you give this one a try and also peek at the other blogger’s recipes by clicking the blue frog to go to the linkup.
If I don’t see you again tomorrow, look for me to post on Sunday with the Sunday Supper group where the topic is Hot Dogs. I have a Hawaiian hot dog for you with an interesting homemade relish. I know you are going to want to at least peek at that one. See you then!
~Sue
Lemongrass Shrimp Rice Bowls

- 8 hours carrot pickling time
Ingredients:
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- shrimp marinade (see below)
- 1 tablespoon butter (for rice)
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil (for cooking shrimp)
- pickled carrots (see below)
- 1 cup raw brown jasmine long grain rice
- nuoc cham (see below)
- 2-3 cups fresh bean sprouts
- 1/2 English cucumber, very thinly sliced
- 2-3 scallions, very thinly sliced in finger lengths, chilled in ice water (to curl)
- 2 cups assorted fresh herbs (cilantro, Thai basil and mint)
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts
- 2-3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2-3 lime wedges (optional garnish)
- 2-3 whole Thai red chili peppers (optional garnish)
- sambal chili paste or sriracha (optional condiment)
Shrimp Marinade:
- 1 stalk lemongrass, white and light parts only, pounded and cut in half
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup Thai Holy basil leaves, coarsely chopped
Pickled Carrots:
- 4 ounces julienne fresh carrots
- 3/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
Nuoc Cham:
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic
- 1/8 teaspoon minced Thai red chili pepper
Method:
- Julienne carrots and heat brine for carrots to a boil; place carrots in a canning jar and pour the brine over; refrigerate overnight.
- Combine shrimp marinade with shrimp in a food storage bag and marinate for about an hour.
- Stir together ingredients for nuoc cham; refrigerate until needed.
- Rinse brown rice in a sieve under cold water.
- Heat 2 quarts salted water to a boil and add rice; cook uncovered for thirty minutes then drain in a fine strainer.
- Add one tablespoon butter to the empty pot and swirl until it melts; add drained rice to the pot and set off away from the heat, cover with a thick dish towel and clamp the pot lid over that (towel will absorb steam); let sit undisturbed for twenty minutes.
- Heat peanut oil in a large skillet; drain the marinade away from the shrimp and cook the shrimp for several minutes in the skillet until opaque and lightly curled.
- Toss half the nuoc cham with the cooked rice.
- Divide rice among serving bowls; top with remaining ingredients (cooked shrimp, pickled carrots, green onions, bean sprouts, cucumbers, herbs), drizzle with hoisin sauce, topping with chopped peanuts, adding remaining nuoc cham if desired; also serve with sambal chili paste or sriracha if wanted.
From the kitchen of palatablepastime.com

Fish Friday Foodies
“Seafood Buddha Bowls”
Be sure to check out the other Fish Friday Foodies Bloggers this month!
Click on the hop link button to be transported to the other recipes:
Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517@gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.
Love this! I love the Viet flavors and I totally adore pickled carrots. Thanks for the great theme!
Wow! That is one long ingredient list…but I’m with you, I bet it’s well worth the added effort! It looks amazing!
Such lovely flavors in your rice bowl, Sue! Thank you so much for this great theme. I enjoyed the challenge!
This was such a fun theme, Sue. Thanks for hosting. Loving all the flavors in that gorgeous bowl of yours.
Thank you for the wonderful theme, Sue. I agree, the effort of your preparation definitely makes it special.
Love all the flavors in this, I am a big lemongrass fan. Must give it a try!
That sounds delicious. I would totally enjoy the pickled veggie and the flavor of lemongrass in it.
I always love dishes cooked with lemongrass. I have ever travelled to Vietnam and enjoy this. So tasty !!!