Vegan Poke Bowls

~Amanda~

Poke Bowls are super trendy right now and definitely one of my favorite meals! I mean what’s not to love about a bowl filled with rice, marinated fish, tons of veggies and a delicious sauce? They are popping up on the menus at so many of my favorite places and I love exploring all of the different spins that each place puts on them. However, I will say this right up front – most of these are not real Poke bowls and calling them that can actually be somewhat disrespectful to the Hawaiian culture and heritage. We took a sushi making class a few months ago and our teacher was a Hawaiian native; he said he refuses to eat Poke anywhere but Hawaii because the way it’s done doesn’t respect the culture or traditions. I totally get this and while I use the name “Poke Bowl” in my recipe, I understand and respect that it’s not really a poke bowl… but it’s inspired by them and it’s really really good!

Poke means “to slice or cut” in Hawaiian and usually is in reference to chunks of raw fish. While I am not a vegan and I do eat fish, I am hesitant to make anything with raw fish at home. I am just not completely comfortable serving it and am constantly wondering if it’s going to make me sick. So I leave that to the professionals when we go out to eat and when I make my own poke bowls, I love to use tofu! Tofu is an awesome substitute here because the texture is quite comparable to that of raw fish and it’s porous texture allows it to soak up so much flavor from the marinade. As you would with fish, you slice the tofu into smaller cubes and toss it with your marinade – I like to use tamari, rice vinegar, sesame oil, fresh ginger and sesame seeds. It’s got the best umami flavor!

Most traditional poke bowls will have a base of white or jasmine rice, but I usually make mine with brown because I like the flavor and texture of it and it’s slightly healthier than white rice. Now onto the fun part, the toppings! I’ll start with the cabbage; I don’t really love the texture of raw cabbage, so I like to cook mine down with some avocado oil and then toss it with rice vinegar to get a little bit of that ‘pickled’ flavor. If you can find pickled cabbage, totally use that instead, I just am rarely able to find it! You can get creative with all of your toppings, just consider this recipe a guide and use what you love. I like to add cucumber and radish for the crisp texture and cool bite, avocado slices add some creaminess, mango adds a pop of sweetness, shredded carrots are also great for texture and sweetness plus they add great color, and finally a sprinkle of green onion over top to make all the flavors pop.

We’re not quite done yet though… one of the most important components of a poke bowl is the sauce! There are so many types of sauces that you can drizzle over your delicious bowl like a ponzu sauce, a tamari based sauce, a creamy sriracha mayo, or my favorite – maple, lemon tahini sauce. This sauce is something that I make at least once a week and I use it in so many dishes (salads, buddha bowls, over chicken, etc) so I knew it would go perfectly with this bowl. It’s quick and easy to make too; all you do is whisk together tahini paste, lemon juice, sriracha, maple syrup, salt and water. Use as much or as little water as you need to reach your desired consistency and then drizzle it all over that bowl of goodness you have created. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy all those amazing flavors coming together!