35 Easy to Make Poke Bowl Recipes Worth Trying (2024)

Native to Hawaii, poke bowls are a colourful, flavourful dish that’s both healthy and delicious. While there are now thousands of restaurants around the world that specialize in poke bowls, Hawaiians have been enjoying them since the 1800s. Influenced by the Japanese donburi due to the arrival of Japanese workers to Hawaii in the late 1800s, traditional poke bowls are made with raw fish, jasmine rice and minimal toppings to let the flavour of the fish shine through. Modern poke bowls in other parts of the world are loaded with customizable toppings so you can really make the bowl your own. From mango to avocado, edamame and seaweed, whatever your favourite toppings are, you can add them to your poke bowls. And of course, you can make your own poke bowls at home. Check out 35 poke bowl recipes you need to try!

What Is A Poke Bowl?

Poke (pronounced poh-keh) is diced raw fish and is one of the most popular dishes in Hawaiian cuisine. A poke bowl consists of chunks of raw, marinated fish, typically Ahi or Yellowtail tuna, which is then tossed over rice and topped with vegetables and umami-packed sauces. Traditionally jasmine rice is used, but you can use your choice of rice, or try veggie alternatives such as zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice. It’s a customizable dish that has plenty of health benefits due to the vegetable and fish content. Fish can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, is high in protein, and is a great source of vitamin B12, A and magnesium.

How To Make The Perfect Poke Bowl

Rice
Poke bowls start with a layer of rice. The quality of rice is important, and short grain Japanese sushi rice is ideal. Jasmine white rice is likely the most popular option, but you can also use brown rice. Alternatives like bamboo rice, cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles and kelp salad are used in modern variations. The rice in your bowl should be warm to hot, as it’s a great juxtaposition against the super cold fish.

Fish
Since you’re using raw fish in your poke bowl recipes, it’s important that you use the freshest fish possible. Ask for sashimi or sushi-grade cuts. Although tuna is the most common fish used in poke bowls, salmon, trout and snapper are also popular options. Don’t use fish that’s farm-raised or frozen, you want the colour, smell and texture to be of top quality.

Cut the fish into cubes and season with scallions, sesame seeds and pink sea salt to enhance the flavour. Mix with your desired marinade, letting it sit in the fridge for at least 15 minutes, but many recipes call for up to two hours. The longer it sits, the more flavour it will have.

Marinade
Traditional poke marinade consists of a mixture of shoyu soy sauce, sesame oil, yellow onion, some type of spice such as red pepper flakes or Korean chilli pepper, seaweed and ginger. While the fish marinates, start chopping your veggies and steaming your rice.

Fruits and Veggies
Fruit and vegetable toppings are added over the fish to give even more texture, flavour and freshness to the bowl. Avocado is one of the most popular poke bowl toppings, and crispy onion adds a flavour and crunch that many people can’t get enough of. Other popular toppings are fresh mango, edamame, macadamia nuts, seaweed, carrots and cucumber. Pickled veggies like onions and ginger and freshly chopped herbs are also used.

Sauces
You can also top your poke bowl with sauces, depending on your personal taste preferences. Mayo-based sauces are a go-to for many poke bowl aficionados since they add creaminess to the dish. Hot sauces, such as sriracha, Japanese red chilli and wasabi are also fan favourites.

35 Poke Bowl Recipes We Love

1. Spicy Tuna Poke Bowls | Skinny Taste
2. Ahi Poke Bowls | Delish
3. Healthy Poke Bowls with Sriracha Mayo | Chew Out Loud
4. Salmon Avocado Poke Bowl | Simply Recipes
5. Tuna and Salmon Poke Bowl | Just One Cookbook
6. Hawaiian Poke Bowl with Spicy Aioli | A Farmgirl’s Dabbles
7. Tuna Poke Bowls with Mango, Avocado and Edamame | Once Upon a Chef
8. Vegan Tuna Poke Bowl | Hot For Food
9. Salmon Poke Bowl with Two Types of Marinades | Lil Vienna
10. Tofu Poke Bowl | The Simple Veganista
11. Salmon Poke Bowl with Brown Rice | Chowhound
12. DIY Poke Bowls | What’s Gaby Cooking
13. Keto Spicy Salmon Poke Bowl | Celebration Generation
14. Ocean Trout Poke Bowl | The Healthy Hunter
15. Salmon Poke Bowls with Pickled Radishes, Carrots and Spicy Ponzu | Feed Me Phoebe
16. Keto Ahi Poke Bowl | Wholesome Yum
17. Cheap and Easy Quinoa Poke Bowls | Cheap Recipe Blog
18. Do-It-Yourself Salmon Poke Bowls | A Day In The Kitchen
19. Ahi Poke Bowls with Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette | Cooking and Beer
20. Shoyu Ahi Poke | A Beautiful Plate
21. Salmon Poke Bowl with Creamy Togarashi Sauce | Cooking With Cocktail Rings
22. Spicy Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon Poke Bowl | Jessica Gavin
23. Easy Tuna Steak Poke Bowls | The Girl on Bloor
24. Cauliflower Rice Salmon Poke Bowl | Meal Prep on Fleek
25. Yellowfin Tuna Poke Bowls | Prairie Winds Life
26. Poke Bowl with Edamame and Mango | Eat Me
27. Black Pepper Poke Salmon Bowl | The Happy Foodie
28. Salmon Poke Bowls with Orange Sesame Sauce | Zestful Kitchen
29. Ahi Poke Bowl with Radishes, Carrots and Beets | Feasting At Home
30. Seared Tuna Poke Bowls | Olive & Mango
31. Tuna Poke Bowl with Seaweed Salad | Momsdish
32. Homemade Poke Bowl with Radish and Cucumber | A Couple Cooks
33. Salmon Poke Bowl with Edamame and Avocado | Omnivore’s Cookbook
34. Simple Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl | Salt Pepper Skillet
35. Traditional Islander Poke Bowl | Westjet Magazine

If you’re a fan of poke bowls, try making them yourself at home with these amazing recipes. Fresh, colourful and flavourful, poke bowls are a healthy dish you’ll want to make all the time!

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35 Easy to Make Poke Bowl Recipes Worth Trying (2024)

FAQs

What are the crunchy things in poke bowls? ›

What Makes a Poke Bowl Crunchy? Adding crunchy bits to your poke bowl makes it even more delicious. Common choices are crispy onions, garlic chips, and sesame seeds. Shredded nori (a type of seaweed) adds a seafood-like flavor, while sweet furikake, a Japanese seasoning, is another popular pick.

What were the original ingredients in poke bowls? ›

Origin of Poke Bowls

In Hawaiian, the word “poke” (pronounced (poh-keh), means “to slice or cut crosswise into pieces.” Fishermen in ancient Hawaii would take reef fish (i.e near-shore fish) and massage them with simple ingredients from the sea such as sea salt, seaweed or limu, which is a type of algae.

What can you substitute for rice in a poke bowl? ›

Replace white rice with cauliflower for a lighter take on a poke bowl.

What is the most popular poke bowl? ›

Tuna is the most-popular base, but the dish can include a wide mix of seafood. In fact, the Hawaiian word poke translates as “to slice or chop.” The dish can be found pretty much everywhere on the islands, in variations like octopus poke with wasabi, salmon poke with roe and ahi shoyu poke.

Do you mix everything in a poke bowl? ›

Unlike traditional mixing, poke bowls are meant to be enjoyed by combining different elements as you go. Chopsticks are a popular choice for enjoying poke bowls as they allow you to create unique flavor combinations in each bite.

What is a dragon poke bowl? ›

DRAGON BOWL 🐉 Giving us the perfect combination of ingredients, this. delicious bowl is made with eel, shrimp, edamame, cucumber, pineapple, green onion, sesame yuzu, crab. salad, avocado, furikake, eel sauce, garlic crisps, onion.

What makes a poke bowl good? ›

Umami Flavor: Poke bowl dressings often contain ingredients that provide a rich umami taste. Umami is the fifth basic taste and is characterized as savory and satisfying. Ingredients like soy sauce, tamari, miso, or fish sauce, which are commonly used in poke bowl dressings, contribute to the umami flavor.

Do you eat poke bowls hot or cold? ›

Should a poke bowl be hot or cold? Poke is traditionally served cold. Some recipes include warm ingredients such as cooked tofu or seared tuna, but if we're sticking with the strictly traditional Hawaiian poke bowls, they are served cold.

What is traditionally in a poke bowl? ›

Standard poke bowl recipes have a few key components: A base (usually sushi rice), protein (traditionally Ahi tuna, salmon, chicken, or tofu), a sauce (used to flavor the protein), and a garnish (often pickled ginger, wasabi, and sliced green onions).

Is poke bowl really healthy? ›

Poke is packed with omega-3 fatty acids, the crucial fat that helps keep your heart healthy and protect you from heart disease. Getting enough omega-3 fatty acids each day helps contribute to a lower blood pressure and heart rate and also improves other potential heart disease risk factors.

What's the difference between a Buddha Bowl and poke bowl? ›

Buddha bowls have been compared to Nourish Bowls (a non-vegetarian version) and to Poké Bowls (a Hawaiian raw fish dish). There are several explanations for why the name refers to Buddha.

Should rice be cold for poke bowl? ›

Only the freshest fish will do, but you can veer away from seafood using anything from tofu to chicken. Temperature is important – rice should be warm and fish cold. Use a rice cooker. Wet or starchy rice ruins a good poké bowl.

What is the best protein for poke bowls? ›

Salmon comes out on top when it comes to protein, omega-3s, and vitamin B-12, but tuna has more magnesium, iron, and calcium. Your best bet: Switch up your protein sources across all three offerings to get everything you need.

Is it cheaper to make your own poke bowl? ›

It costs a fraction of what a poke bowl goes for! Unless you live where fresh seafood is in abundance, then a poke bowl is going to run up your bill. This homemade poke bowl costs much less and you can make it again and again once you have the base ingredients.

What do Hawaiians eat with poke? ›

Fish was preferably eaten for immediate consumption, raw with sea salt, inamona, and sometimes seasoned with blood from the gills. A typical relish was made of inamona mixed with dried ʻalaʻala (octopus inksac), ake (fish liver), and salt. The poke was accompanied with limu and a large bowl of poi.

What are the different kinds of poke? ›

Non-Ahi Poke - This is poke made from non-ahi seafood or vegetables. Commonly seen in Hawaii: salmon poke, hamachi poke, tako (octopus) poke, scallops, imitation crab poke, shrimp poke, and even tofu poke. Spicy ahi poke stuffed into cone sushi at Off The Hook Poke Market (Oahu).

Is tuna or salmon better for poke bowl? ›

Salmon is the best bet for healthy fats

Just like with choosing a base, you really can't go wrong with what protein you choose. If you're eating poke several times a week, you'll definitely want to cycle in the tofu; eating more than two servings of fish a week isn't recommended because of the mercury levels.

References

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