Vegan Tuna Poke Bowl Recipe - Healthy and Nutritious

Anyone else obsessed with poke bowls? If yes, then this vegan tuna poke bowl recipe is perfect for you. If no, then you'll 100% be obsessed after trying the recipe. Or probably already after reading this post. And if you're wondering "What the heck is a poke bowl?" - I was wondering the same. So stick around, I'll explain in the next paragraph.

What the Heck Are Poke Bowls?

I recently went to a poke bowl restaurant in my city (yeah, I didn't know that was a thing either) and it was so delicious I had to make one myself! Poke (pronounced POH-keh) is a traditional Hawaiian dish. I like to think it's the hipster bowl of all superfood buddha bowls because it's healthy, delicious and looks beautiful.

Poke is Hawaiian and means "to slice or to cut". Usually, it refers to raw, marinated fish like tuna that is cut into chunks and served with rice, vegetables and umami sauces. A little bit like sushi, but definitely easier to prepare!

How to Make Poke Bowls

There is no "the one and only" recipe to making poke bowls. You can add fruits, different kind of veggies, herbs and spices, different sauces, nuts and other crunches, avocado... If you want to make your own poke bowl, you can follow this simple guide.

Base: Most often, you'll find rice as a base. But even here you can experiment by using different kinds of rice or adding lime juice or sesame seeds. Or you can go for something different such as a (zucchini) noodle base.
Toppings: Traditionall, poke bowls are served with raw fish. To make it vegan, you can either make your own vegan fish (see below for the vegan tuna recipe) or use tofu, sweet potatoes or mushrooms. And don't forget the fruit & veggie toppings. Here's some inspiration: avocado, shiitake mushrooms, dried seaweed, crispy onions, toasted coconut, bean sprouts, mango, carrots, chopped kale, cucumber, edamame, pickled radish, pickled or fresh ginger.
Dressing: Sauces are often made with soy sauce or other salty umami bases. You can add lime or lemon juice for a citrus-y flavor, or some sesame or garlic.

And if you like it spicy, you can top everything with some additional hot sauce or some wasabi!

Making Vegan Tuna with Watermelon

For this vegan poke bowl recipe, we will be using watermelon to make a vegan tuna. Sounds weird? Well, I was also sceptical at first. But when you think about it, watermelon does have the perfect color and consistency to imitate tuna, so now we just have to get the flavor right.

I cut the watermelon into cubes and baked it in the oven with some salt at 180°C/360°F for 60 minutes, flipping the cubes halfway through. Then, I marinated them in a mixture of no-fish sauce, vegetable oil, liqiud smoke and salt. Because the watermelon is naturally very sweet and watery, we first bake it in the oven. This releases most of the liquid and the watermelon becomes a little more chewy. To balance the sweetness, we add a salty sauce and also some additional salt.

I also tried marinating the cubes first and then frying them in a pan. I found that most of the marinate evaporated during the frying so the flavor wasn't as strong anymore. Also, when frying you have to be very careful not to let the watermelon caramelize (which would make it sweet again). Therefore, I prefer the first method.

Vegan Tuna Poke Bowl with 6 Delicious Toppings

For this recipe, we will top the rice with the vegan watermelon tuna, chopped scallions, edamame, avocado, cucumber and pickled radish.

The pickled radish is super easy to prepare and I think it gives the dish a very beautiful color. I covered the sliced radish with a mixture of water, apple cider vinegar and sugar and let it sit at a cool place overnight. Due to the vibrant red skin of the radish (don't peel it!), all of it turns a beautiful pink color. If you want a stronger color, you could add a slice of beet root to the jar.