How To Make The Perfect Poke Bowl Every Time
How To Make The Perfect Poke Bowl Every Time
Are you curious to learn what is a poke bowl and how to make it? They are delicious, and if you never had the chance to try one, now is the time. Or if you are already a fan, now is the time to learn how to make them.
Once you learn a few tricks like choosing the right poke fish and whisking the perfect poke bowl sauce, preparing this dish is effortless and can be done in no time.
What Is a Poke Bowl?
A poke bowl is a Hawaiian dish featuring raw fish, rice, different vegetables, and unique poke bowl sauces. The first poke dishes were different from today's, as they consisted only of raw fish and simple poke seasoning of seaweed and salt. A dish like this lets you get creative in the kitchen and use your imagination to assemble a tasty, colorful meal. The essentials are good-quality raw fish like salmon or tuna, white rice, a tasty sauce, and poke seasoning. Everything else added to the bowl is a plus that makes the dish even more delicious.The Essential Poke Bowl Ingredients
When you make a dish like this, the ingredients must be fresh and high-quality. You can play with the ingredients and add as much or as little vegetables as you like, but you don't want to go too overboard for a more authentic feeling. The must-have ingredients are:- Poke fish – there isn't a poke bowl without raw fish. You can use a combination of salmon and ahi tuna or use only one type of fish.
- White rice – If the fish is the star of the show, rice gets the award for the best supporting role. And we are not talking about plain and tasteless white rice, you first need to know how to cook the rice, and you have to season it if you want it to taste good.
- Poke bowl sauce – A good sauce will tie together all the ingredients into a perfect symphony of taste.
- Poke seasoning – You need simple seasoning like sesame seeds or furikake to top everything off.
- Fresh mango
- Avocado
- Cucumber
- Seaweed
- Edamame
- Radish
- Red onion
- Scallions
- Roasted peanuts
How to Choose the Best Fish
We don't like to repeat ourselves, but we need to emphasize how important it is to choose high-quality fish when preparing a dish like this. Poke fish is raw fish, and not every raw fish is safe for consumption. When buying a delicate ingredient like this, you'll want to spend a bit more money because good-quality fish will often be pricy. It's always best to find a good fish market near you and buy from a fishmonger that you know or that someone recommended them to you. Once you find the best-quality fish, you'll want to prepare your bowl as soon as possible. Once you get home, be sure to keep the fish on ice and in the refrigerator so that it stays fresh. It's also essential to use a clean board and a knife to cut your fish.The Best Poke Bowl Sauce
You should never skip making the sauce when preparing this dish. It really is not the same without it. Some of the best sauces are the ones that are mayonnaise-based. And believe us, even if you are not a big fan of mayonnaise, you'll love it here. The fattiness of the mayo goes excellent with the fish, and when you add all of the other condiments, it makes the perfect combo. The most basic and, at the same time, delicious sauce is made out of freshly made mayonnaise, a bit of lemon juice, sesame oil, and hot chili paste. The sauce is not supposed to be too hot, just a bit spicy. The heat from the chili paste will balance out the fattiness of the mayo and the fish.How to Make a Perfect Poke Bowl
It may look challenging to make a bowl like this, but once you make it the first time, every next bowl will be much easier to make. And as time goes by, you'll even start experimenting with the ingredients, the toppings, sauces, and even seasonings. And remember to take it easy while preparing any meal, don't rush anywhere, and enjoy the process. Once you try what you made, you'll instantly want to book a ticket to Hawaii.- First, you'll want to buy the fish; depending on your taste, choose from salmon and yellowfin tuna, also known as ahi tuna. You know what's essential when searching for a good dish and buying it for raw consumption. Try to find the best local fish, or you can even order online. Once you get home, put your fish on ice and prepare the other ingredients.
- Cooking white rice shouldn't be too challenging; however, many people end up with bland and mushy rice. To avoid it, you'll want to rinse the rice first. It's something essential that many don't know or forget to do before cooking it. The easiest way to cook the rice is to follow the instructions from the package. Once the rice is done, let it rest for a few minutes, then fluff it up and season it with sesame oil, rice vinegar, a bit of sugar, and sea salt. It will make the rice taste amazing.
- Once the rice is done, you'll want to prepare the fish. Use a sharp chef's knife and a clean board and slice the fish in the same size cubes. Then season the cubes with soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and thinly sliced spring onions. Mix everything, and let it marinate in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- If you want to give the meal a unique twist, you can make homemade mayo, but it's absolutely fine to use store-bought too. Make the sauce by mixing mayonnaise with lemon juice, sesame oil, and hot chili paste. And when it comes to chili paste, we recommend you to use the aji Amarillo paste for a special kick.
- Slice fresh mango, avocado, crunchy radishes, and prepare sesame seeds topping.
- Use your favorite bowls and first add the rice, top it with poke fish, freshly-sliced mango, radishes, and avocado, and drizzle generously with the delicious sauce you made. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of everything, and your first Hawaiian bowl is served.