Description
Let’s bring Hawaii (and Guam) into our kitchen with this delicious vegan Hawaiian-style poke (poh-keh)! All the flavors you want in a Hawaiian-style poke bowl, but without the fish! This vegan poke is packed with umami flavor and marinated in a soy-sesame sauce. If you miss poke bowls from the islands as I do, then this is the recipe you’ll need. So easy to make and minimal cooking required.
Ingredients
Scale
Main:
- 4 beefsteak tomatoes (or 8 Roma tomatoes)
Marinade:
- 1/2 cup – soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons – sake, Japanese rice wine, optional
- 4 tablespoons – mirin
- 3 tablespoons – sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon – mushroom seasoning https://amzn.to/2Xg04TS
- 1 sheet of nori, torn into small pieces https://amzn.to/393hW70
- 1/3 sweet onion, thinly sliced and diced
Toppings:
- Tempura scraps (Tenkasu/Agedama), optional, see notes https://amzn.to/2VBFaOr
- Seaweed Salad, optional, see notes
- Pickled yellow radish (Takuan), optional, see notes
- Sesame seeds
- 3 stalks green onions, thinly sliced
- White Rice
Equipment:
- Large pot
- Slotted spoon
- Medium bowl
- Large bowl
- Whisk
- Chopping board
- Sharp knife
- Melon baller or a spoon
Instructions
Make the marinade:
- In a medium-sized bowl, add in the soy sauce, sake, mirin, sesame oil, mushroom seasoning, nori, and sliced sweet onions. Mix until well combined. Set aside until ready to use.
Prep and cook the tomatoes:
- Fill a pot of water, enough water to submerge the tomatoes, and bring it to a boil.
- Score the bottom of the tomatoes and prepare a large bowl of ice water. Again, enough water to fully submerge the tomatoes.
- Add the tomatoes to the pot and cook for 45-60 seconds or until you see the skin slightly peeling off. Do not overcook.
- With a slotted spoon, remove the tomatoes from the pot and immediately put them in the ice water.
Skin and cut:
- Once cooled, gently peel the skin off the tomatoes. They should come right off.
- Slice them in half and then into quarters. With a spoon or melon baller, remove the pockets of seeds and white parts of the tomatoes. You can save those discards for something else! You should have just the flesh of the tomatoes left.
- Then cut the tomatoes into cubes.
Marinade:
- Add the tomatoes to the marinade. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but best results, overnight.
Serve:
- You can serve it as is or serve over a bowl of cooked rice. Sprinkling some sesame seeds and green onions. Optionally, you can add other toppings such as tempura scraps, seaweed salad, edamame, or daikon! Enjoy!
Notes
- Spicy mayo version? Easy. Simply just mix ¼ cup of vegan mayo and 2 tablespoons of sriracha (adjust to your preference). Remove the tomatoes from the marinade and mix it with spicy mayo. Adjust as needed.
- I prefer using beefsteak tomatoes as they are a little heftier and have fewer seeds in the middle, compared to Roma. But use whatever tomatoes you have or prefer.
- Tempura scraps. If you can’t find pre-made tempura scraps, you can easily make them. It does take a bit of time though. It does taste really good in this poke bowl, so if I were you, don’t skip it! You can use this recipe from Just One Cookbook: https://www.justonecookbook.com/tenkasu-agedama/
- Seaweed salad. You can usually find this in the ready-to-eat meal sections at most Asian supermarkets. They are typically vegan, but as always, double-check the ingredients list! They are pretty “fishy” tasting, it’s just the nature of these salads. So, if you are not used to that flavor, do not get this!
- Pickled yellow radish (Takuan). Another ingredient you can find at most Asian supermarkets, and is normally found in the chilled section.
Keywords: vegan, vegan hawaiian recipe, vegan poke bowl, hawaiian recipe, poke bowl, vegan poke, guam recipe, guam vegans
