Spicy Salmon Poke Bowls! Diced raw fish served over rice with vegetable garnishes and spicy mayo. So delicious and easy to make! We hope you try this!
I love sushi and if I could, I would eat sushi and/or sashimi everyday. For those who don’t know, my father owns a sushi restaurant in Dallas and growing up, we would go to the restaurant and eat all the sushi we wanted. My dad would make or create a special sushi roll and call it Dynamite! Hahahah! Every special he came up with was dynamite!
Now, honestly I probably pick up sushi from Wegmans more than we go out to eat or I pick up sashimi and make Hwe Dup Bap or Poke at home.
The History of Poke
Some may think that Poke is Japanese but it actually originated in Hawaii. Poke is diced raw fish served either as an appetizer or a main course and is a popular dish in Hawaii. It is “believed that the poke bowl was first prepared by native Polynesians, who made it with raw beef fish, seasoned with sea salt and seaweed, and topped with crushed candlenut. This took place centuries before Western travelers arrived on the islands from Hawaii and eventually to New Zealand.
Ships from the West Coast would trade salt with sailors for salmon. Soy sauce and sesame oil was introduced by immigrants from China and Japan, adding it to dishes in Hawaii’s culinary melting pot. It wasn’t until the late 1900’s when the seafood dish received its name of “poke.” Meaning to slice or cut crosswise into pieces, poke can be prepared in a variety of dishes, such as the classic rice bowl, nachos, sushi, tacos, and even tostadas.”
Poke is a Hawaiian dish that has its roots deeply rooted in Japanese cuisine. “Poke” means “cut into pieces” and the name refers to the slices or cubes of raw fish that are served in a bowl along with rice, dressing, vegetables and seasonings.
Spicy Salmon Poke Bowls
These spicy salmon poke bowls are so easy to make! You can also use tuna if that’s your preferred fish. Poke bowls can vary based on what you have and how much you want to eat with your sushi grade fish. I’ve seen poke bowl with rice and the seasoned raw fish cubes and cucumbers and that’s it. Many use a spicy mayo dressing and the dressing is usually just sriracha mixed with kewpie mayonnaise and sometimes you’ll see a little lemon juice and a touch of sesame oil mixed in. It’s so delicious!
The great thing about poke bowls: you can customize your bowl to whatever you like! Add edamame, nori or sesame seeds on top! Add cucumbers and sushi grade fish only and garnish with a ton of diced green onion. Totally up to you!
I hope you try this recipe!
Spicy Salmon Poke Bowls
Ingredients
For the cucumbers:
- 3 to 4 Persian cucumbers sliced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 to 2 teaspoons gochugaru Korean chili pepper flakes
For the sushi grade salmon:
- 1/2 lb. sushi grade salmon cubed
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce low sodium
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
For the Poke Bowls:
- 2 cups cooked rice
- avocado diced
- carrots julienned
- daikon radish julienned
- pickled radishes
- furikake
- 2 tablespoons kewpie mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sriracha
Instructions
For the cucumbers:
- Using a medium sized bowl, salt the cucumbers and add the rice vinegar, honey and gochugaru. Mix together by hand. Taste and adjust any ingredients as needed. If there's too much vinegar, add a little water and mix again.
For the sushi grade salmon:
- Using a small to medium sized bowl, mix together the ingredients. Taste and adjust anything as needed. Set aside as you prep the poke bowls.
For the Poke Bowls:
- To assemble: Add 1 cup of cooked rice into your bowl and top with half of the salmon and some cucumbers. Arrange the avocado, carrots, and daikon radish around the bowl and top with some pickled radishes if you have some. Sprinkle on some furikake. In a little bowl, mix together the kewpie mayonnaise and the sriracha and drizzle your spicy mayo over the top. Assemble the second poke bowl and enjoy immediately.
Notes
I love salmon poke and sushi, but ironically not baked salmon or prepared any other way, don’t know why! So I appreciate this poke dish, thank you!