Tuna Poke Bowl: Two Ways

Having experienced my first poke bowl at The District FishWife in DC during our trip in March, I had to attempt to recreate it at home! These poke bowls – two ways – are a flavor bomb loaded with tons of fresh ahi tuna, sushi rice, seaweed salad and veggies. They will definitely fulfill your sushi craving!

The District Fishwife has a fresh fish counter serving up a menu of options for lunch or dinner inside of Union Market located about 5 minutes from Union Station. Their fish and chips are always on the menu, but occasionally you’ll catch the poke bowl. I was ever so lucky and didn’t even realize it! The day we stopped in for lunch at Union Station, they were featuring their poke bowl with salmon or tuna and I ordered one! Having not had sushi since before I was pregnant with Asher, I savored inhaled every last bite of fresh tuna. The District Fishwife serves their poke bowl with two sauces – a spicy aioli and a ginger soy dressing – on a bed of sushi rice with seaweed salad, ginger, carrots, and wasabi.

It was so delicious that I dreamed about that flavorful raw tuna for weeks and was determined to attempt it at home. Living in a smaller city like Knoxville, even though our food scene is growing, something as unique as a poke bowl is not found around here. So if I wanted to enjoy the tastes of this popular Hawaiian dish, I was going to either have to recreate it myself or wait a very long time. For those of you that are new to poke (pronounced “POH-keh”) like I was, you can read all about it here and here. Like most foods that get their humble beginnings in Hawaii, no one knows the origin of the marinaded cubed fish dish, but if you live in the great island state then it is a staple food that you just grew up eating – no big deal. To the rest of us non-Islanders, it is as interesting and foreign to us as most things about Hawaii.

I did a lot of research into traditional poke recipes and most are very simple with a sesame soy marinade, but with the option to also add a spicy mayo sauce to it. Poke bowls rely on very fresh fish that marinades for a few minutes (typically no longer than 30 minutes) in the fridge, so they are best served the same day you purchase ingredients, but can be eaten the next day. These bowls were HUGE and neither of us were capable of finishing the entire serving in one sitting, so I can attest to eating it the next day. It’s not as fresh, but definitely still edible.

Recalling the flavors of the poke bowl I had in DC, I assumed that they were sticking with traditional ingredients. Based on the sauces it gets served with, this made perfect sense. So I at least had an idea of where to start and I think I got pretty close!! I hope you enjoy these. My favorite is with the spicy mayo sauce. It’s slightly sweet and spicy…so good!

Tuna Poke Bowl: Two Ways

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Ingredients

  

• Tuna Poke:
• 1 lb tuna we used two 7oz filets of shashimi
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger grated
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds plus more for topping
• 1 tbsp shredded seaweed like wakame
• 2 scallions chopped finely, plus more for topping
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp Sriracha sauce adjust depending on how spicy you like it
• Seaweed Salad:
• 1 cup dried seaweed/sea vegetable salad suggest wakame or nori
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• pinch asian chili flakes
• pinch of sea salt
• Bowls:
• 1-2 cups sushi rice
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots
• 1/4 cup shredded cucumber
• pickled ginger
• wasabi paste

Instructions

 

• Rehydrate seaweed in water for 5-10 minutes.
• Cut the tuna into 1 inch cubes. Toss with soy sauce, sesame oil, seaweed, and scallions. Set in fridge for 30 minutes to chill. In the meantime, mix mayonnaise with sriracha.
• Coat half of marinaded tuna in spicy mayo.
• Combine all seaweed salad ingredients.
• Put together the bowls starting with 1/2 - 1 cup good quality sushi rice. Top with sesame soy tuna and spicy mayo tuna, carrots, cucumber, pickled ginger and a dollop of wasabi. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions.

Enjoy! <3 k&r