Do you ever get obsessed with food dishes? Not out of convenience or necessity, but simply out of your sheer love of them. That’s how I feel about poke & of course this Vegan Poke Bowl. I’ll admit it. I had a slight addiction to poke bowls years ago. Multiple times a week I would find myself ordering a loaded bowl. The combinations of flavors seemed endless & it is just such a great meal for lunch or dinner. Some of my favorite meals in Hawaii were poke bowls straight off the beach from the cutest little family run pop-ups or food trucks. Both the people & the bowls were full of life & flavor! Maybe that’s why I wanted to create a vegan version that paid tribute to those memories.
Now I’m sure you are thinking but poke is fish. Traditionally, yes it is, but where there’s a will there’s a vegan way. To mimic the look & texture of poke we use watermelon. Yes, watermelon! We cut it, cook it, then marinate it & eat it up! It really does take on the perfect texture & I promise it doesn’t taste like some weird version of a summer bbq staple. The marinade is literally everything & makes it the perfect way to create a vegan version of a poke bowl.
What is poke? Poke is actually Hawaiian for “to slice.” It is raw fish that is seasoned with salt, seaweed, & crushed nuts (kukui) usually served as an appetizer or light meal. According to what I could find, it originated from Hawaiian fisherman sharing their fresh catch straight off the boats. As with all food items, poke evolved over time. As more people arrived on the islands, they introduced their cultures & melded it with the traditional poke. Heavily influenced by Japanese & Chinese immigrants, the flavor additions started to reflect these cultures, introducing soy sauce & sesame oil. The flavors continued to develop from there. The options are now endless & have grown tenfold from those original fisherman’s catch.
There is one difficult part to this recipe. It’s how do you fit all your favorite toppings in the bowl. When I make this for more than just myself I like to set it up buffet style so that each person can assemble with their preferred favorites. The only issue is there are so many items that you can add to this & so many great flavor combinations that you’ll want to make sure you have a big enough bowl to accommodate all this deliciousness! This Vegan Poke Bowl is also great for meal prep ideas. Just portion out, store & get ready to devour. It will last up to 3 days in the refrigerator & is so good the next day. Name a raw fish you can eat 3 days later & not end up in a hospital with food poisoning.
If you enjoy this one, then here are a few other fresh ideas for lunch or dinner…
Vegan Poke Bowl
Ingredients
Watermelon Poke
- 2 – 3 cups watermelon remove seeds
- 3 tbsp coconut aminos or tamari (vegan soy sauce)
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp tahini
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1-2 tbsp sambal oelek or sriracha
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced or grated
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 green onion, sliced
- 1 lime, juiced
- optional: 1 inch piece of nori
Coconut Lime Cilantro Rice
- 1 cup jasmine rice, uncooked
- 3/4 cup water
- 3/4 cup coconut milk
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Poke Bowl Toppings
- add your favorite vegetable or fruit toppings such as carrots, cucumbers, avocado, radish, mango, edamame, etc…
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° & line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
- Prepare your watermelon by slicing into bite size cubes, removing any seeds.
- Place the watermelon cubes on the parchment paper leaving space between each piece. Place in the oven & cook for 50 minutes. Halfway through cooking remove from oven & flip the cubes over, return to the oven to finish cooking. Remove & let the watermelon cool for about 5 minutes.
- While the watermelon is cooking prepare the marinade. In a baking dish or bowl (see notes) add all the marinade ingredients, stirring well.
- Add the cooled watermelon to the marinade & toss to coat. Cover & place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Depending on how deep your dish is you may want to toss 1-2 times while chilling to ensure that all watermelon cubes get ample time to soak up that marinade.
- Time to make your meal! Prepare your rice by adding the coconut milk, water & rice to a medium saucepan (with lid). Bring to a gentle boil. Bring heat to low & cover for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat & let it sit covered for another 10 minutes. Add the juice from one lime & the roughly chopped cilantro. Fluff the rice to combine. Set aside until ready to assemble your bowls.
- While the rice is cooking prepare your toppings. Slice up all your favorite vegetables or fruits.
- Assemble your bowls. Fill a bowl with some rice then add a scoop of the watermelon cubes & your favorite toppings. Feel free to add an extra drizzle of that marinade over the top.
