Poke bowls at home

Many years ago I believed that california rolls were “sushi”, along with all the other terrible rolls covered in sauce, mayonnaise and tempura crunch. I have since seen the light and corrected my wrongs. Sushi is now in my diet at least once a week along with other raw fish dishes.

Obviously, poke shops are about as abundant as chipotles and can be found on almost any corner. While I do appreciate the fact that you can go and create your own bowl, there is something I love about a restaurant that just serves you their version of a poke bowl. I don’t always love all the choices or want to have to decide on which fish, which toppings, which sauces. By the end of the line my bowl usually makes zero sense. It also usually costs like $18 dollars, which kills me a little inside.

I have started making my own poke bowls, and absolutely love it. I can use the ingredients I have laying around my house and put what I really want in my bowl without feeling completely overwhelmed (and spending a small fortune). I definitely prefer a fresh sushi grade tuna or salmon, but whole foods sells a frozen sushi grade filet which I usually buy and keep in my freezer for the days that I have this craving. All you do is take out in the morning and let it thaw about 4 hours in your refrigerator and it is ready to go! Here is a list of the ingredients that I personally love in my bowl:

sushi rice

seaweed salad (usually purchased from the sushi counter)

cucumbers

tuna or salmon

pickled radish and carrots

cilantro

pineapple

serrano peppers

cilantro

a spicy soy and rice wine sauce (recipe below)

I mean, you can really put so many ingredients in this bowl. Skip the rice and just eat on a bed of lettuce. Use fresh veggies instead of pickled. Mango, when it is in season, is amazing.

I love a little zing to my bowl, so I always add a little rice wine vinegar into my sushi rice when it is still warm.

Honestly, you do you.

Spicy sauce:

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons Sriracha

2 tablespoons sambal

1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger

1/2 fresh serrano, minced

Directions:

mix together all your ingredients in a bowl. I like to soak my fish in this for a few minutes as well as save a little to pour over my sushi rice.

POKE BOWL:

start with your bed of rice and layer your veggies. Top with your fish of choice and dig in!