Thai Peanut Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl
Roasted sweet potato, crisp chickpeas and charred broccoli composed in sections over a seasoned grain base, with a bright ginger and lime peanut sauce poured over at the table. One sheet pan.
Servings 4 bowls
Ingredients
For the Sheet Pan
- 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes about 2 medium, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
- 15 ounces canned chickpeas drained, rinsed and dried well
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 2 tablespoons avocado or olive oil divided
- ¾ teaspoon salt divided
For the Peanut Sauce
- ⅓ cup natural creamy peanut butter unsweetened
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tablespoons lime juice fresh
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3-5 tablespoons warm water to thin
For the Base and Toppings
- 1 cup jasmine rice or quinoa dry, cooked in salted water
- ⅓ cup roasted peanuts roughly chopped
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
- 1 lime cut into wedges
Instructions
Roast the Sheet Pan
- Cook the rice or quinoa in salted water according to the package directions and set it aside covered.
- Heat the oven to 425F. Dry the chickpeas thoroughly on a towel, discarding any loose skins. Wet chickpeas will steam instead of crisping.
- Toss the sweet potato cubes and chickpeas with 1 ½ tablespoons of the oil and half the salt. Spread them on a large sheet pan, keeping the chickpeas on their own patch rather than mixed among the potato. Roast 15 minutes.
- Toss the broccoli with the remaining oil and salt. Pull the pan out, turn the sweet potato cubes, and add the broccoli to the open space. Roast another 15 to 18 minutes, until the sweet potato edges are browned, the chickpeas rattle when you shake the pan, and the broccoli tips are charred.
Sauce and Assembly
- Whisk the peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, rice vinegar, sesame oil, maple syrup, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes together. The mixture will seize at first, which is normal.
- Add warm water 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition, until the sauce falls off the whisk in a slow ribbon that sinks back in after a second. Taste it cold and adjust the lime and salt.
- Spread the cooked grain across the bottom of each bowl. Lay the sweet potato in one section, the chickpeas in another and the broccoli in a third, side by side. Do not stir them together.
- Spoon the peanut sauce over the top in a wide zigzag, then finish with chopped peanuts, cilantro, scallion and a lime wedge. Serve right away.
Notes
- Dry the chickpeas: towel them, rest five minutes, towel again. A wet chickpea cannot crisp.
- Even cubes: ½ inch across, all of them, or you get burnt small pieces and raw big ones.
- Stagger the broccoli: it finishes well before sweet potato, so it goes in at the halfway mark.
- Sauce consistency: peanut butter brands vary, so thin by look rather than by measurement.
- Add a protein: cubed chicken roasts in the same time; shrimp goes in for the last 6 minutes only.
- Meal prep: store components separately for 4 days, sauce in a jar for a week, peanuts and herbs added only at serving.