Poke Bowls, a Hawaiian/Japanese dish are the latest fad in so many cafes at the moment and I can see why. You can literally put anything in them, they are super healthy and make for a really simple summer meal, day or night. I wanted to see what all of the fuss was about and I happened to come across some really nice sashimi grade tuna at the local fish monger. The beauty of this particular poke bowl is that if you are not the fish eating type and would prefer a vegetarian option just substitute the tuna with firm tofu or if you are of the meat eating nature, just sear a steak and slice it up. the options are endless! I made my own quick Ponzu style dressing (not traditional so try not to judge) but you can buy a store bought if you want to speed things up. The end result was really nice, flavoursome and really quite interesting. I am looking forward to exploring more Poke Bowl options, especially in the coming months as the weather heats up.
The seasoning in this dish is a little added extra that I made up but is entirely optional. It did add a gorgeous flavour and crunch to the bowl.
Prep time: 30 Minutes Cooking time (for the rice): 25 minutes $$ Medium budget
Serves 4
400gm of Sashimi Grade Tuna (you can use normal tuna or salmon)
1 clove of finely grated garlic
1 tsp of finely grated ginger
1 tsp of sesame oil
3 spring onions, white part finely sliced, green part sliced diagonally for garnish
11/2 cups of Brown rice
2 cups of water
1 tbs of mirin seasoning*
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced (you could use a mandolin if you are brave)
4 radishes, thinly sliced (mandolin maybe?)
1/2 a bag of frozen edamame beans
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
1 punnet of baby corn
Kewpie mayonnaise for drizzling*
Pickled ginger, wasabi or Sriracha sauce* to serve
For the Seasoning:
1 large red chilli, halved lengthways, seeds removed and very finely sliced diagonally
1 tbs of toasted sliced almonds
1 tbs each of black and white sesame seeds (white is fine if you don’t have black)
1 sheet of nori, quartered lengthways and finely sliced
A sprinkle of sea salt
For the Dressing:
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup of Mirin seasoning
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of a lime
Cook the brown rice according to packet instructions. Allow to steam for 5 minutes and then add the mirin, stirring through and fluffing with a fork. Set aside.
Place the edamame beans in a saucepan with cold water and bring to the boil. Boil for 3 minutes before draining and running under cold water. They should be cool enough to peel and they peel very easily. Discard the shells.
Heat a griddle pan or BBQ and char the baby corn for a couple of minutes on each side.
Cut the tuna with a sharp knife into little 1cm cubes. Place it in a bowl and then add the white part of the spring onion, sesame oil, ginger and garlic. Stir gently to combine and then place in the fridge for later. Just before serving stir through 2 tablespoons of the ponzu dressing. You don’t want to do this too early as it will ‘cook’ the tuna.
To make the seasoning, heat a small frypan and lightly toast the sliced almonds in the dry pan. When they are done, add a little oil (peanut or rice bran) and shallow fry the sliced chilli until it is nice and crispy, it will turn a deep red, almost brown colour when it is ready. Drain on paper towel and allow to cool before adding it to a small bowl with the almonds, sesame seeds, sea salt and finely sliced nori. Toss gently with your fingers to combine.
To make the dressing, place the ingredients in a bowl and whisk with a fork to combine.
To assemble the Poke Bowl, place a heaped portion of rice in each bowl and divide the tuna, placing it in a nice pile in the centre. Around the tuna, assemble the carrot and radish slices, baby corn, edamame and avocado slices. Spoon the remaining dressing over the vegetables and sprinkle over the seasoning mix. Top with the green shallot slices, drizzle over a little mayonnaise and serve with wasabi, pickled ginger and sriracha if you desire.
*Mirin seasoning, Kewpie mayonnaise and Sriracha sauce can all be found in the Asian section of the supermarket.