One of the best things about traveling to DC for work, is the wide variety food. There are a number of places within walking distance, that will delight your taste buds without breaking the bank. From food trucks to Michelin star restaurants, the selection is delightful. For lunch we typically want something quick, fast and close, so MyLisa got me hooked on the rice bowls at the SoHo café. I thought they were Korean but I think they’re actually Vietnamese. Spicy, cool, with an assortment of meat, veggies, rice, noodles and a sauce. I wouldn’t normally put them together, but yum.

I found a few recipes, but nothing quite like what I eat in DC. So I had to pick and choose from a number of different recipes to make my own bowl. You can check out the links below for inspiration. Once you find a marinade, basically you pile everything in a bowl, and it’s simply satisfying perfection.

Key ingredients I used are below. Mom was surprised at everything in the bowl, and shocked that when combined, the made a harmonious dish. I, of course, added more Sriracha to mine to make it a little spicier.

• Basmati rice with cilantro and lime
• Marinade – you have lots of options here but this time I chose to use a Korean barbecue marinade and sauce (There are many recipes for this, but I had to try my friend Chris’s and her partners favorite marinade – Bibigo). I used this recipe before, and would recommend it.
• Cellophane noodles or rice vermicelli
• Fun toppings – cucumbers, carrots, scallions, bean sprouts, sesame seeds, mint, shredded lettuce (others include pickled vegetables, radishes, cilantro, avocado, fried egg, jalapeño, peanuts)
• Sriracha mayonnaise and regular Sriracha, or nuoc cham (Vietnamese chili garlic sauce)
• Boneless chicken thighs or breasts. I used thighs, and they were lovely

After eating this, it reminded me of a bahn mi sandwich but in a bowl. It’s an entire meal in a bowl, it’s brilliant. Now you see bowls popping up in other restaurants. The most time-consuming part of this dish is cutting vegetables. In general it’s relatively easy to make. Hard to mess it up.

• Korean rice bowl with chicken –link Does not include noodles
• Sauces for Korean bowls link
• Spicy Korean chicken link
• Vietnamese chicken noodle bowl
• Noodle Bowl
• Rice and noodle bowl

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Would I make it again? Definitely. I’d use rice vermicelli noodles instead of cellophane. It would be fun to try different sauces and marinades.