I do not like fish. Not cooked, not raw, not crustaceans, nothing that comes from the sea that used to be alive, or sorta alive, in the case of oysters. So that means I have never had a poke bowl, because the basis of it is fish. But when I saw a Youtube video for watermelon tuna, I knew I had to try it. And of course where else would you use watermelon tuna but in a poke bowl? So let's try this watermelon tuna poke bowl.
It looks pretty realistic, doesn't it?!
Summertime is the best time to try this recipe, since the melons are at their cheapest and tastiest! I have made this twice and in both cases I tried red watermelon. Get a regular red, seedless if you can, watermelon. No need to go for the heirloom varieties here. The watermelon tuna does need to marinate for a few hours to overnight, so keep that in mind before diving into this recipe!
What is watermelon tuna like?
This again, is coming from someone who has never had real tuna. But with the plain red seedless watermelon, you really don't realize you're eating watermelon. It's been marinated, baked, and rolled in sesame seeds, so it really just becomes an additional textural element in a poke bowl. It's chewy-squishy, and tastes like oil and soy sauce.
I tried it the first time right after it came out of the oven, so it was warm, and I was not impressed. It tasted like hot, oily watermelon. I was doubtful but put it in the fridge to chill anyways. After a few hours, I tried it again and it was much better. It more resembled something that tuna seems like it would taste like. Rolled in the sesame seeds and added to everything else it the bowl, the fact that it was fruit disappeared.
Watermelon Poke Bowl
Ingredients
- ½ cup cooked rice
- ¼ cup cooked, shelled edamame
- 7-8 slices cucumber, thinly cut
- ¼ cup matchstick carrots
- ½ cup watermelon tuna (see note)
- fresh cilantro
- 2 diced scallions, green parts only
- furikake
- 2-4 tablespoons reserved watermelon tuna liquid
Instructions
- Assemble all of your ingredients.
- Heat up the rice in the microwave until lukewarm but not hot. Then, put the cooked rice in a shallow, wide salad bowl.
- Next, add the carrots, edamame, watermelon tuna, and cucumber slices.
- Pour the reserved watermelon tuna liquid over, making sure the rice gets a good douse.
- Top the bowl with the scallions, cilantro, and a shake or two of furiake.
- Serve immediately.
What are poke bowls?
Poke bowls are like the grain bowls that were popular a few years ago. Poke in Hawaiian means "to slice or cut" and it traditionally means to slice or cut fish. Then that sliced fish is marinated and put on top of rice, with vegetables and salty sauces. So you can see where this is going, just without the fish today.
Vegan poke bowls are also sometimes topped with tofu or tempeh that's been marinated and cooked to stand in for the fish.
I like to think of it as a sushi salad, in a way. It's got a lot of the same elements, just remixed into a different format, with Hawaiian elements because this is a dish of the islands (hint, just because something is Hawaiian doesn't mean it has pineapple in it!). So if you like sushi, you should like a poke bowl!
Extra poke bowl add-ins
You may like your poke bowls with different add ins, they are very customizable dishes!
Try:
- Radish slices
- Fried garlic crispies
- Avocado slices
- Bean sprouts
- Microgreens
- Nuts
- Wasabi peas
- Pickled ginger
- Red onions
- Nori
and this is just some options! You could probably make a different poke bowl every day for a month and not have the same one twice.
