Vegan Korean Mushroom Bulgogi Bowl Recipe
This veggie packed vegan Korean mushroom bulgogi bowl uses meaty portobello mushrooms in lieu of beef! It’s easy for meal prep, and topped with a spicy sriracha mayo sauce!
This vegan Korean mushroom bulgogi bowl recipe was inspired by one of the all time reader favorites on the blog, bulgogi portobello mushroom tacos! My plan was going to whip them up to snap updated pictures for the blog, but I settled on this bowl instead. Paired with roasted broccoli, spicy kimchi and smothered in sriracha mayo....mmmm!
Before we get to the recipe, I thought it would be fun to give you a sneak peek at some of the delish eats I enjoyed this weekend. I hear a lot of anxiety from clients about weekend eating. Is that something you've struggled with too? I think a lot of it stems from the diet mentality of be "good" during the week then "cheat" on the weekend. Of course, as you can imagine, planning to cheat after depriving yourself all week usually leads to eating in a way that feels totally out of control. If this has been your experience, it makes sense that weekend social eating would be anxiety-provoking.
Friday night, I wanted to do something vaguely Saint Patty's day appropriate that wasn't corned beef, so I made a big pork roast in the Dutch oven with pears, onion, potatoes and smashed garlic cloves. I made the rookie mistake of not looking up how to cook pork butt until after 5, so we didn't eat until almost 9. And then we were in bed by 9:30 cause the hubs was fighting a cold. Forget the whole no food after 8 pm rule - sometimes a late meal is the best you can do! And hey, the whole country of Spain usually eats dinner after 8 and they seem to be doing just fine!
The next day after eating leftovers for lunch, my intern came in town to stay the night. She works for Better Bean and had a couple demos to do. If you haven't tried their products, you must. Chipotle red beans all the way!
After walking the dogs around the neighborhood, we met up with my husband and friends at Main Street Public House for a beer and order of bread with Guinness beer cheese. We were a little disappointed in the bread to cheese ration though (team more cheese!)
Before dinner, we stopped at the downtown Sheradon hotel for a rooftop sunset. It was gorgeous, but crazy windy!
When you’re trying to get a cute couple picture but it’s so windy your hair keeps whipping your husband in the face….
For dinner, we went to Bourbon, one of my favorite restaurants in Columbia. The creamy rice grits were out of this world! From there, it was back home for wine, puppies and we watched The Autopsy of Jane Doe....which was really weird and not scary.
Crispy brussels sprouts, eggplant jambalaya, and scallops with creamy rice grits, salsa verde and roasted beets
Since I wanted to show off the best of Columbia, we got breakfast the next day at Rise Bakeshop. Fried chicken biscuit (with pickles!) for the hubs, egg and cheese biscuit for my intern (Alton Brown called it the best biscuit sandwich he ever ate), and an everything bagel with chowchow cream cheese me. Plus, a sorghum sticky bun to split :)
Errrthing bagel and schmear
Sorghum sticky bun for breakfast dessert
Now I'm wrapping up this post after eating leftovers for lunch, about to whip up a veggie stir fry for dinner
While the dieting mind might look at my weekend and go OMG beer and cheese and white four and wine and more cheese, I look at my weekend and consider it pretty healthy. I got some movement in with a couple long walks around the neighborhood and some light yoga. I ate veggies at every meal. And I enjoyed lots of social connection, which matters more for health than what foods you eat.
What tasty eats did you enjoy this weekend?
Bulgogi Portobello Mushroom Bowl
Serves 4
Gochujang is a Korean chili paste. If you can't find it, swap a tablespoon of sriracha.
Ingredients
Bulgogi Portobello:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
2 tablespoons sesame oil
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons brown sugar or coconut sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons gochujang
4 large portobello mushroom caps, sliced
Bowl:
1 head broccoli, trimmed and cut into florets
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 small cucumber, sliced
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and sliced
Chopped toasted peanuts, for serving
Kimchi, for serving
Sriracha Mayo:
3 tablespoons sriracha
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
Instructions
Mix soy sauce, mirin, sesame, scallions, sugar, garlic and gochujang in a large bowl. Add mushrooms and toss to combine. Refrigerate, tossing to cover every so often, for 2-4 hours to let the mushrooms soak up the sauce.
When ready to cook, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss broccoli with sesame oil, season with salt and spread evenly on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and roast 25 minutes until golden and tender.
While the broccoli is roasting, cook the mushrooms. Drain mushrooms from marinade. Either grill them over medium heat or saute in 1 tablespoon sesame oil until tender.
Divide rice among four bowls. Top with roasted broccoli, mushrooms, cucumber, avocado. Serve with a scoop of kimchi and peanuts.
Mix sriracha and mayo in a small bowl. Drizzle bowls with sriracha mayo.
More Korean inspired food from the archives:
Portobello Bulgogi Tacos
Bulgogi Tofu Meatball Lettuce Wraps
Kimchi Noodle Salad
