Coconut peanut rice bowl with turkey, broccoli and mushrooms

I have proved to be equally inept with white rice, brown rice, basmati and jasmine rice, though I can make a pretty great pot of risotto. For everyday rice, I rely on my little electronic rice cooker, which never lets me down. (I use it for quinoa, too.) I like to make as much as the rice cooker will hold, and keep leftover rice in the refrigerator to make dishes like this coconut peanut rice bowl recipe, which I created for Lynne, my friend Bev's daughter, who eats gluten-free and dairy-free. You can make this recipe vegan by omitting the turkey and adding more vegetables, and make it spicier with a squirt or two of Sriracha sauce.

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

4 cups cooked brown or white rice
2-3 Tbsp vegetable, canola or rice bran oil
2 lbs lean ground turkey (I use 93% lean)
1 large onion, chopped
12 oz sliced mushrooms, any variety
3-4 Tbsp Thai red curry paste, to taste
3 Tbsp tamari soy sauce (or low-sodium soy sauce, if you don't need it to be gluten-free)
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter (organic is gluten-free)
Juice of 1 lime
2 15-oz cans coconut milk
12 oz broccoli florets
Fresh black pepper, for garnish
Extra lime wedges, for garnish

Directions

In a large wok or wok-shaped nonstick frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Stir in the turkey, breaking it up with a spatula, until it is no longer pink. Add the onion and mushrooms, and keep stir-frying until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the curry paste, and let it cook for 1 minute. Then, add the soy sauce, peanut butter, lime juice and coconut milk. Use a whisk to incorporate the peanut butter into the coconut milk.

Bring the sauce to a low boil, then reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until the coconut milk has reduced slightly and thickened. Then add the broccoli, and continue to simmer for 5 minutes, until the sauce is the consistency you like.

Add a nice portion of cooked rice to each individual serving bowl, and top with the coconut peanut turkey sauce. Season with black pepper to taste, and finish with a squirt of lime juice.