Homemade Poke Bowls (gluten free & paleo)

Poke every damn day. Ahem, get your mind out of the gutter. I’m talking about my favorite Hawaiian food, poke (pronounced po-keh). Poke is a Hawaiian fish salad that has found major popularity both in the islands and on the mainland. These homemade poke bowls are made with ahi tuna and a yuzu ponzu sauce and served with mixed greens, veggies, avocado, and seaweed. Best of all, they’re super healthy, paleo, gluten free, whole30 approved, keto-friendly and come together in a matter of minutes.  Jump Straight to the Recipe

Gluten Free & Paleo Homemade Poke Bowls

My husband and I were married on Maui. During our month-long stay, we mostly lived on a diet of foraged passionfruit, leftover wedding cake, steamed buns from the 7-11, and poke. So. Much. Poke.

In Hawaii, you can find poke everywhere- from Foodland, a local grocery store, to lunch counters, to fine dining establishments.  Flavors range from the traditional sea salt and oil to miso, shoyu, spicy, sesame, and even kimchi. One of my favorites is yuzu ponzu poke- which draws on Japanese flavors. Of course, my version is gluten free and soy free and even Whole30 compliant.

I’ve teamed up with my friends at Nugget Markets to bring you this ahi poke bowl recipe. Nugget Markets invited me to get up close and personal with any of their departments, and I didn’t even have to think for a second before choosing fish and seafood. I met with the head of the seafood department, Bill Davis, to talk turkey—well actually fish.

I know the seafood at Nugget Markets is fresh and delicious, but I wanted to hear more about trends and sustainability. On trending, Bill told me that the number one trend is fresh wild fish and seafood. He also said that people are really paying attention to the Fishwise sustainability ratings these days. When I asked Bill about his philosophy for the fish department, he said,

“It’s not about now. It’s about the future. At Nugget Markets, we ask ourselves if we’re headed in the right direction. Of course we love growth, but we only want to grow in the right way.”

–Bill Davis, Nugget Markets

While touring the seafood department at their Davis,CA store, I was eyeing some glorious hunks of ahi. Homemade poke was definitely on the menu. So guess what, I’m sharing the recipe with you.

Homemade poke bowls are endlessly customizable. I’ve made these on a bed of mixed greens, but you can serve your poke over sushi rice or just by itself. I’ve also included some of my favorite veggies on my bowl- like cucumber, radish, avocado, seaweed, and green onion. You can get creative and add your own twist- like daikon, macadamias, watermelon radish, cilantro, jicama, even mango!

This poke bowl is simple to make, but includes some specialty ingredients. If you’re near a Nugget Markets location, you can find everything there. If not, well-stocked grocery stores should carry all of the ingredients. If your store doesn’t have a robust global foods section, y may need a trip to an Asian market.

Here’s a rundown of the specialty ingredients in my poke bowl.

Ahi Tuna: Make sure your ahi is suitable for eating raw. Just ask your fishmonger if it’s sushi grade.

Dried Seaweed Salad:  I love the seaweed salad mix from SeaSnax, but you can get any kind of seaweed salad mix. I especially love suginori the delicate and colorful seaweed resembling corals. If you can’t find seaweed salad mix, you can omit or even use thinly sliced toasted nori sheets.

Yuzu Juice: Yuzu is a Japanese citrus that tastes like a combination of meyer lemon, grapefruit, and mandarin, but more fragrant and sour. If you cannot find this, you can use meyer lemon and rice vinegar in equal parts.

Togarashi: Schimi Togarashi is a Japanese spice blend which has chilies, black pepper, sesame, dried orange peel, and other Japanese spices. It’s one of my secret pantry superstars!

Sesame Seeds and Sesame Oil: Make sure to buy toasted sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds. The flavor of sesame comes alive when toasted. I’ve used black sesame seeds here, but feel free to use the toasted white sesame seeds.

Coconut Aminos: I can’t do gluten and my husband can’t do soy, so coconut aminos are the perfect stand in. You can use tamari or soy sauce if you like, but keep it mind it may be saltier than coconut aminos.

This post has been sponsored by the amazing folks at Nugget Markets. Though I have been paid for this post, my opinions, as always, are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that make The Tomato Tart possible.

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Homemade Poke Bowls

Rating  5.0 from 5 reviews

Prep time:  15 mins

Total time:  15 mins

Serves: 4 Servings

This poke bowl is made with ahi tuna and a yuzu ponzu sauce and served with mixed greens, veggies, avocado, and seaweed. Best of all, it’s super healthy, paleo, gluten free, and comes together in a matter of minutes.

Ingredients

• Poke Ingredients
• ½ cup coconut aminos
• 2 tablespoons yuzu juice (or sub 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon rice vinegar)
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon neutral flavored oil (I used algae oil)
• 1 tablespoon togarashi (omit for non spicy version)
• 1 lb sushi grade tuna, cubed into pieces
• ¼ cup thinly sliced onion
• Bowl Ingredients
• ½ cup dried seaweed salad (optional)
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons neutral flavored oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 6 cups mixed greens
• 1 cup thinly sliced cucumber
• 4 thinly sliced radishes
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 1 thinly sliced jalapeno or fresno chili (omit if you don’t like spice)

Instructions

1. Make the poke In a medium bowl, whisk coconut aminos, yuzu juice, sesame oil, neutral oil, and togarshi together. Add tuna and red onion, stirring to combine. Cover and chill while you make the salad.
2. Rehydrate the seaweed salad In a small bowl, cover dried seaweed salad with cool water for 7-10 minutes, then rinse and drain.
3. Make your bowls In a medium bowl, whisk together rice vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper. Toss your mixed greens until well dressed. Divide the greens between four smaller bowls. Top each with cucumber, radishes, avocado, seaweed, chilies, and poke. Sprinkle sesame seeds and green onions over the top and serve immediately.

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