5 Ingredient Okinawan Bowl 🇯🇵🌱 (vegan) | Blue Zones Recipes - What's in the fridge? (2024)

Thank you Mimi and Minal for another wonderful Wellness Wednesday with your team at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Today, I’m sharing the recipe we did together from the Blue Zone Okinawa, Japan! It’s called the Three-Minute Okinawan Bowl so maybe you already like it 😄 it also requires only 5 ingredients.

This recipe is adapted from The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100. Hope you enjoy this simple, cold noodle salad as the weather warms up. Add your favorite vegetable if you want- here’s the base!

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FIVE INGREDIENT OKINAWAN BOWL

Ingredients (4 Servings):

—1 lb. somen noodles or soba noodles
—2 Tbsp. Sesame oil, divided
—1 cup firm tofu, cut into 1 inch chunks, pat dry
—¼ cup chopped green onions or chives
—Soy sauce to taste

—Fresh mint and basil or shiso leaves (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook noodles 2-3 minutes, according to package directions. Drain and toss with 1 Tbsp. Sesame oil to prevent from sticking.

2. In a sauté pan heat remaining sesame oil and fry dry tofu chunks a few minutes until golden brown. Then, toss tofu with noodles and green onions. Add some soy sauce to taste (about 1 Tbsp.) I added sesame seeds for garnish as well as fresh herbs.

3. Thank you Bambi @culinarysnap for giving me the idea of shiso leaves- I used a combo of fresh mint and basil to stand in for my shiso leaves and it was just what the salad needed- a bright fresh touch. .

Enjoy this recipe and the Japanese way to eat for longevity- “hara hachi bu” eat just until 80% full. .
Can’t wait to travel to Costa Rica for the recipe next week!

For more Blue Zones recipes like these, check out the book below!

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UPDATE: I checked back with the students to see if they made the recipe. A few of them did and had great suggestions. I want to share them with you here:

• add hot sesame oil for spice
• add green beans for more veggies

FIVE INGREDIENT OKINAWAN BOWL