It’s super easy to make your favorite sushi-style Poke Bowl at home, chock-full of fresh tuna and salmon, vibrant veggies, steamed rice, and delicious sauces.
Poke bowls are like a deconstructed sushi roll. They have taken the world by storm because they are flavorful and packed with nutritious and fresh ingredients, including fish and various sauces. Poke (pronounced poh-kay) is typically a restaurant dish, but it’s easy to make at home – even easier than making your favorite maki roll. No special cooking techniques or knife skills are needed! Just basic slicing, dicing, and stirring.
What Is A Poke Bowl
A poke bowl originates from Hawaii and is heavily influenced by Japanese culinary traditions. The term “poke” translates to “cut into chunks,” describing the raw fish cuts presented in a bowl accompanied by rice, various veggies, dressings, and a mix of flavorful seasonings.
Why We Love Making Poke Bowls
- You can personalize it and customize a poke bowl with rice or noodles and pile on various toppings.
- Freshness is key, and when made at home, you have complete control over the quality of ingredients.
- Making poke bowls is easier than rolling sushi. No particular equipment is needed – just some straightforward chopping and mixing.
- Have fun and take yourself on a culinary adventure. Explore different ingredient combinations and sauces, allowing yourself to experiment and find your perfect combo.
Ingredients For Poke Bowl Recipe
- For the Fish: sushi-grade ahi tuna and salmon, salt (like alaea salt), chopped green onions, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and rice.
- For the Cucumber Salad: diced cucumber, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Optional Toppings: diced mango, diced avocado, edamame, crab salad, seaweed salad, wasabi, sriracha, and/or black sesame seeds.
How To Make A Poke Bowl
- Make Rice. You can follow my recipe here for instant pot jasmine rice or just use leftover rice.
- Prep the Tuna and Salmon. To prep the fish, cut the tuna and salmon into bite-sized pieces. Place them in a bowl and add the salt, sliced green onions, and condiments. Toss gently to coat and set it aside.
- Make the Cucumber Salad. Dice up the cucumber and transfer it to a separate bowl with the condiments and seasonings, and give it a gentle stir to combine. Set aside.
- Assemble the Bowls. Divide the cooked rice evenly between four bowls. Top the rice with salmon, tuna, cucumber salad, and any of the other toppings that you want to use.
Poke Bowl Recipe Tips And Variations
- Source Your Fish: If you can’t find sushi-grade fish near you, consider ordering online.
- Prepping Fish: Remove any white, tough streaks found on the fish.
- Rice Options: You can use plain or flavored rice. Also, consider using soba noodles or rice noodles instead of rice, or go with a bowl of salad greens instead.
- Seafood Options: Besides tuna and salmon, you can use cooked shrimp, fried calamari, crab, or tofu.
- Sauces: Serve the bowls with yum yum sauce, ponzu, shoyu, sriracha mayo, sesame vinaigrette, gochujang, ginger dressing, miso dressing, etc.
- Toppings: Seaweed, radishes, grated carrot, mandarin orange segments, pineapple, are all welcome additions to these bowls. For a little tangy flavor, try items like pickled red onion.
- Poke Bowl Buffet: Hosting a poke feast? Plan on ¼-pound of seafood per guest and lay out a spread of various toppings, ample rice, and a selection of sauces for a serve-yourself style meal.
What Is Sushi (or Sashimi) Grade Fish?
Many sellers label certain fish “sushi-grade” or “sashimi grade”. This means the fish is safe to eat raw because it was caught, cleaned, and frozen in a certain way for the highest quality and eliminated any possible parasites.
How To Store
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days. Freezing is not recommended.
More Easy Seafood Recipes
- Crab Stuffed Salmon
- Spanish Seafood Paella
- Roasted Mahi Mahi with Vegetables
- Air Fryer Fried Calamari
Poke Bowls
It's easy to make a gourmet Poke Bowl at home packed with fresh tuna and salmon, crunchy veggies, steamed rice, and flavorful sauces!
Servings : 4
Ingredients
For the Fish:
- ½ pound sushi grade ahi tuna
- ½ pound sushi grade salmon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- cooked and cooled rice, for serving
Cucumber Salad:
- ½ english cucumber, diced
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Toppings:
- Diced mango
- Diced avocado
- Edamame
- Crab salad
- Seaweed Salad
- Wasabi
- Sriracha
- Toasted black sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cut the tuna and salmon into bite-sized pieces, place them in a bowl, and sprinkle with salt. Stir in the sliced green onions. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar; toss to combine and set aside.
- Next, place the diced cucumbers in a bowl, and add the rice vinegar, sesame seed oil, sugar, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine.
- Divide the cooked rice between 4 bowls.
- Top the rice with the salmon, tuna, cucumber salad, mango, avocado, and/or any of the other desired toppings.
- Serve.
Equipment
Notes
- Fresh Fish: If you’re using raw fish, make sure the fish is sushi-grade.
- Fresh Veggies: Use fresh, crisp vegetables for the best texture and flavor.
- Cut Evenly: Dice your fish and veggies into uniform pieces.
- Sauce it Up: Use a variety of sauces like soy sauce, ponzu, or spicy mayo.
- Toppings Galore: Offer toppings like avocado, mango, nuts, seaweed salad, edamame, and sesame seeds.
- Layer Your Ingredients: Start with a base of rice, noodles, or greens, add your protein, then pile on veggies and garnishes.
- Don’t be afraid to try different combinations of ingredients to find what you love the most.
- The nutrition facts are approximate, provided as a courtesy, and do not include all of the possible ingredients (such as all the possible toppings and sauces) in a poke bowl recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 424 kcal | Carbohydrates: 41 g | Protein: 30 g | Fat: 15 g | Saturated Fat: 3 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5 g | Cholesterol: 53 mg | Sodium: 770 mg | Potassium: 602 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 2 g | Vitamin A: 1360 IU | Vitamin C: 2 mg | Calcium: 40 mg | Iron: 2 mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Did you make this recipe?Leave a Rating!
