Thai-Spiced Rice Bowls
This curried Thai peanut bowl recipe is warming, hearty and fresh! These delicious bowls are easy to make, too. The recipe comes from The Minimalist Kitchen Cookbook by Melissa Coleman.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
One of my favorite parts of my job is meeting and befriending other food bloggers. Melissa of The Faux Martha and I started our blogs around the same time. We commented on each other’s blogs for a while and then I reached out to Melissa way back when she was living in Chicago.
That’s how you know you’re headed in the right direction—when “networking” feels so natural and easy. Melissa invited me over to her home and out to dinner. We’ve been buds for a while now.
Last summer, when I was in Minneapolis for Lindsay’s photography workshop, Melissa invited us over for dinner. I got to see her amazing modern farmhouse in person, finally. We ate homemade pizza in her backyard under those big, round Christmas lights I love so much. Someday, I’ll have a proper backyard and I’ll “borrow” some of Melissa’s design elements.
Melissa is a designer. She worked as a graphic designer when I met her, then she became a blog designer, then she designed her home, and now she has made a cookbook. Melissa is a very thoughtful designer and everything she produces is beautiful, practical and functional at the same time. Those are the hallmarks of great design, right?
In her backyard, we talked about Melissa’s upcoming cookbook, The Minimalist Kitchen (affiliate link). Her book is here, finally! It’s everything that I knew it would be—beautiful, practical and functional, with Melissa’s honest and manageable approach to home cooking.
Melissa’s cookbook offers 100 wholesome recipes, made with essential tools and efficient techniques. She thought of everything, including how to measure margarita ingredients while dirtying the least amount of dishes.
This book is realistic minimalism—you won’t find 5-ingredient entrées (how good could those be?), but made-from-scratch recipes that use common ingredients. They’re delicious and affordable.
Melissa’s book offers quite a few vegetarian options, and I chose to make her Thai-spiced rice bowls. This recipe is perfect for transitional spring or fall weather, since it features warm curried peanut broth and hearty brown rice topped with lots of fresh garnishes. It’s almost like soup-meets-spring-rolls, and I’m really into it!
My Recipe Notes
Melissa’s recipe calls for chicken broth, but I used vegetable broth since I’m a vegetarian. She also suggests that you could top the bowls with shredded chicken, but I think this crispy baked tofu would be a fantastic vegetarian/vegan option.
If you’d like your vegetarian peanut broth to have a little more body, you can whisk in more peanut butter or use regular (full-fat) coconut milk instead of light. That said, I liked my broth a lot as-is.
Be sure to check out Melissa’s book, The Minimalist Kitchen, and let us know how you like the recipe in the comments! If you’re craving more Thai-inspired recipes, I have more over here.
Thai-Spiced Rice Bowls
This curried Thai peanut bowl recipe is warming, hearty and fresh! These delicious bowls are easy to make, too. Recipe yields 6 servings.
Ingredients
Rice
- 1 ½ cups uncooked rice (I used long-grain brown rice)
- 1 ½ tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt (or ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt)
Peanut Broth
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- Thumb-tip of peeled fresh ginger, pressed or minced
- 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- ¼ cup soy sauce (I used reduced-sodium tamari)
- ¼ cup natural peanut butter
- 4 cups (1 quart) vegetable broth
- 1 can (14 ounces) light coconut milk
- Generous squeeze of honey
Garnishes
- 1 cup matchstick-cut carrots (I used my julienne peeler)
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- ½ English cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (optional; I used a regular cucumber and seeded it before slicing)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint (optional)
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
Instructions
- Make the rice: Cook the rice according to the package instructions, then stir in the butter and salt. (Here’s how I cook brown rice.)
- Make the broth: Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once warm, add the oil. Add the garlic and ginger. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the remaining broth ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes to develop the flavor.
- Meanwhile, prepare the garnishes. To serve, divide the rice evenly among 6 serving bowls. Top each serving evenly with the broth. Garnish as desired.
Notes
Recipe barely adapted from The Minimalist Kitchen by Melissa Coleman.
Make it vegan: Omit the butter for the rice, or replace it with coconut oil, added to taste. Use maple syrup instead of honey to sweeten the broth.
Make it gluten free: Use gluten-free tamari instead of regular soy sauce.
Change it up: Melissa says you can add edamame or peas to this recipe.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Just made this last night! It was amazing! I loved the peanut butter flavor with the coconut milk. This one is going in the ‘keep’ pile. :) Thanks for posting this recipe Kate.
You’re welcome! Thank you, Texie.
Kate — this was great! We love spring rolls and peanut sauce, and this was a simple way to pull all those flavors together in a bowl. Had to add 1/2 Tb. more of red curry paste and a couple tablespoons more peanut butter to satisfy our palate. (BTW — your granola recipe introduced me to you. It’s perfect, and we’ve never stopped making it! Now beginning to work my way through your book.)
Wonderful, Janet! Thanks for your review.
Omg, I had THIRDS. I never have thirds. I’ve tried and enjoyed a few of your recipes, but I think this is my favorite so far. The flavor legit transports me back to the streets of Thailand. I don’t cook with mint a lot and loved the bright flavor this added. I also added a bit of frozen peas and broccoli to the broth to get even more veggies in, and served with some tofu. I’ll have to make again soon, this won’t last long :D
I love that! Thank you for your review, Rebecca. I appreciate it. :)
Great recipe my family loved it. Like the combination of fresh crisp vegetables and hot broth. Thank you for sharing this. I look forward to making more of your dishes.
Very good recipe , I love that , thanks for sharing .
You’re welcome, Quinton! Thanks for your review.
Thank you, this was a wonderful and easy dish to prepare.
Thank you, Megs!
I tried this last night, but I added chicken broth and breast. I also used the full fat coconut milk, but no butter. It was delicious and the whole family loved it. It’s a keeper!
Thanks for sharing, Lea! I appreciate your comment and review.
I tried this today and it was very good! BF liked it too even though the flavors were very different for his palette. I will say my broth was much more brown and not as colorful but other than that everything was very good and tasty.
Loved this. These kinds of recipes make it far easier to convince my husband to eat more vegetarian meals! It was hearty, comforting, and delicious.
GOOD. LORD. This was incredible. And actually super easy. I made it with the Better than Bouillon vegetable broth and it was insane. INSANE. I was BUMMED when I finished my second bowl because I knew that, as someone who does not want to roll around in agony out of being so full, I should stop like someone who has willpower over DELICIOUS FOOD would do.
Thinking of you, thai spiced rice bowl, thinking of you…
This recipe is amazing. I originally made it because I keep a lot of the ingredients on-hand, and then my boyfriend and I fell in love with it. I love that we can substitute whatever garnishes we have on hand. Thank you!
I made this exactly as the recipe describes, and it tasted like bland vegetable soup with a hint of red curry flavor. It does not need 4 cups of vegetable broth. It absolutely dilutes any hint of flavor.
Hi Bull, I’m sorry to hear you were disappointed by the recipe. Thanks for sharing your experience!
This looks so yummy! I know peanut butter has protein, but I would like to add a protein like shrimp or chicken to this. Any suggestions on how to do that? Thanks!
I’m sorry you can disregard my last comment. I totally overlooked the recipe note about shredded chicken or tofu. I don’t know how I did that. I’m looking forward to trying it. No need to post my comments. Thanks!
Ok, :)
great recipe Thank’s for sharing
You’re welcome!
Just made this, still eating now, whilst typing. Really great recipe, lovely flavours. Everyone had seconds in my house. I amended it slightly by adding broccoli and shrimp to the broth. :-)
Thanks for sharing and for your review!
Waauuw! Very balanced
I’m happy you liked this one, too!
There are very few of your recipes I haven’t absolutely loved, but while we enjoyed the rice and the toppings, we weren’t crazy about the broth in this one. Despite all the flavourful ingredients, it didn’t seem to taste of much, even when I used coconut cream instead of milk and gave it a shot in the arm with a dash of hot sauce. I think I’ll stick to your incredible West Indian peanut soup in future!
I’m sorry you weren’t in love with the broth! Thanks for sharing what you though.
Made this tonight as written with all the garnishes. I did add thin sliced grilled chicken. This was so good, light, refreshing and not to spicy for my husband who has not liked curry in the past! Thanks for another great dinner!!! I am a huge fan!
Great! Thank you, Claire.
Like most of this items on your blog, I love this recipe! You’ve been our go-to for vegetarian cooking. Thank you!!
Did Melissa Coleman change the name of her blog to https://www.thefauxmartha.com/ ?
Thank you, Tiffany! Her book and blog are different names. :) Her blog is still The Faux Martha.
Well, let’s see…how many ways can I mess up the recipe and still have it taste good…? I used stock instead of broth. Hubs got coconut milk from the milk section…not the canned. Who knew that the canned stuff was thicker?? (My daughter and son-in-law did!) And…we had Sriracha on the table for those who wanted to give it a a bit more zing. We all liked the recipe, and except for the time to prep for toppings, it was super easy. Will make it again actually following ALL the directions and assume it will be even better.
Daughter made the Roasted Strawberry, basil and goat cheese crostini (from her new C&K cookbook!) as an appetizer and we all deemed that a winner as well.
Oh no! I’m glad it still turned out for you, Jean. Thanks so much for sharing!!
I’ve been making this on cold days and it is super satisfying. I added tofu and sometimes I sub the rice for ramen noodles. Thanks for the great recipe!!
You’re welcome! I like your creativity, Karen.
I made this tonight and it was really yummy. I was thinking about the left over broth and thinking I’m going to use that broth with some ramen noodles, getting double duty out of that delicious fragrant broth.
Loved it! Tons of flavors and very warming.
Thanks for sharing, Nathalie!
Amazing recipe… absolutely loved by all who have tried it… a real winner!……
Thank you for the feedback, Carolyn!
Was this not meant to be more of a sauce? Mine was more like soup.
This is more liquid than thick.
I am really sad that this pretty dinner has no flavour
I’m sorry to hear you weren’t a fan of this one, Patty! Thanks for the feedback.
Probably commenting on an old recipe/thread here. I made this last night and, while it is yummy, we found it pretty bland. Do you have any suggestions for how to kick it up a notch flavour-wise?
I’m sorry to hear that! What brand of curry paste did you use? You can always adjust that to your liking.
This is so flavorful, but it’s like a soup rather than thick like a sauce. Anything I can do to thicken it in addition to letting it boil longer?
Would you be able to add Instant Pot instructions?
Sorry, I don’t have them available and won’t likely be providing them for this recipe. You could always use it to cook your rice.
This was soooo delicious! My husband had 2 1/2 servings for dinner and ate the rest for lunch the day after. Thank you!
I love that! Thanks for sharing, Lynne!
I am excited to make this, but what amount is a “thumb tip” of ginger? I have never heard of that amount. Does it end up being one teaspoon minced? Thanks!
Hi Vee! Just measure it to your thumb:) It’s roughly an inch.
Thai spiced rice bowls are SO good! I’m new to this way of eating, as I grew up on meat and potatoes, and raised my kids similarly. 7 daughter has broken the mold and helped me learn another way. And this is my favorite! It’s stuff if not put together before so I was leery but it was SO great, I’ve made it again and again. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Pamela!
Does this freeze well?
I don’t think these are a good option to freeze. Sorry, Kristina!
By far one of my favorite recipes, it’s become one of my go-tos! So fresh and flavorful and easy! Also works really well for leftovers.
You’re welcome, Ashely!
Hi Kate!
This is the third recipe of yours I’ve tried and it’s another winner! You and Melissa are awesome!
Turns out that it was the perfect balance of being filling and satiating but also kind of ‘light’ with the fresh vegetables. And it was a really easy and delicious ways for us to get more veggies in, so thank you thank you guys for that :)
I added some crisped up tofu to it the second night. This is a dish that is great as leftovers too. So happy! Thank you again for your blog!,
Alex
I love to hear that! Thanks for your review and kind comment.
This was delicious! I used brown basmati rice and all the recommend garnishes except for mint. I added crispy tofu for some additional protein and this made 6 fairly large servings. I’m looking forward to yummy lunches this week!
The only drawback to this recipe was the time commitment. While it cooked quickly, it took me well over an hour to prep all the ingredients. This will strictly be a weekend prep meal for me but the flavor is worth it!
I was looking for a good ramen noodle recipe and saw this. Swapped the rice for ramen noodles- SO good!
Loooove that recipe! Made it last winter for a group of 20 people (some vegetarians, vegans, GF, allergics and pregnant ladies) and everybody loved it! Easy to customize with the toppings. Very tasty exactly as is, and perfectly comforting for the fall. Will be making it again this weekend with a side of crispy tofu and chicken (for the carnivores at the table!)
Thanks for that great recipe!
I’m so happy it was a hit, Gabrielle! Thanks so much for sharing.
It was so good!
I’m happy you loved it Kelly!
Before eating, my wife said we should take a picture because it was so pretty. This was a hit for the adults in the house. We could not stop adding stuff to our bowls so it would not run out. Thanks for the excellent recipe!
Wonderful recipe – absolutely delicious! The directions were somewhat disorganized, but the recipe is wonderful.
Hi Marie, I’m sorry you found the directions disorganized. My goal is to make them clear, detailed and in process order. What did you find disorganized? I appreciate the feedback!
Kate – Is commented several days ago that I made the recipe and it is FANTASTIC!!!! I also said the instructions were disorganized. You sent me an email and asked “Why?” I could not find that email from you to reply. The instructions are not disorganized; I was wrong. I think, for me, it was just a visual thing. The spacing is off. The categories of ingredients, i.e. Peanut Broth, Garnishes, are set right beneath the ingredients for the prior category and spaced way above the category they actually belong to. No big deal. I am sure I am the only person who got hung up on it. But your recipe is out of this world. I can’t wait to try more. Marie
Hi Marie! Thanks for your follow-up. I do appreciate feedback and want to understand why readers may be having issues. :) Thanks again for your response back! I’m glad you loved the recipes.
This recipe is such a game changer
It is absolutely delicious! I have made it three time already. The rich broth with the fresh veggies and herbs – again, sooo good. Washing and cutting the veggies def takes a little bit so be prepared for that (especially if you are a perfectionist like me) but over all super easy, yummy, and healthy.
Looks great! Do you think almond butter would work instead of peanut butter?
Sure, almond butter will work!
I find a lot of my cooking to be Mexican skewed in terms of flavors which only keeps meat eater boyfriend happy for so long. This was so different and absolutely out of bounds with crispy tofu! Thanks for another amazing recipe Kate!
This is the most fantastic dish. Lite but filling . Easy to make and delicious. My kids love it
Wonderful…realy layered with flavor.
Thanks
Hope you are happy and healthy
Aaaargh!!! This was so delicious I had to come straight to the computer! I’ve spent lockdown steadily working my way through all the recipes on your blog, and they have all been STUPENDOUS! If I got this in a restaurant I’d be going back for my birthday just to eat it again….thank you so much for sharing this yummy recipe :):) :):):) and for as others have said, supporting other women’s careers openly…I love that attiitude :) It’s the way forward!!
This is SO GOOD. I went ahead and served it over cilantro lime rice, which was amazing. I’m super full but still want to eat more, honestly. Definitely going to hang onto this recipe.