How to make a vegan poke bowl! You’ll be surprised how much flavor comes from the pickled turnip sack, colorful vegetables, and tangy mayonnaise.
Do you want to eat plant-based, but also want poke bowls? These popular health bowls have been all the rage lately. Poke is a Hawaiian specialty, typically made with marinated raw ahi tuna, then served with lots of vegetables and savory sauces. What if you don’t eat fish? We have a whole food plant-based version (WFPB) for you: vegan poke bowls! Packed with flavor, these scrumptious bowls contain an unusual ingredient that surprisingly imparts the same texture and flavor as poke. beets. Yes, you have to try it to believe it… but it really works!
Really, turnip sack?
Yes! As strange as it may sound, cooked beets replace fish in this vegan poke bowl. Somehow the textures and marinade really work! The beet sack is buttery and tender, flavorful with hints of soy, sesame and ginger. How to do this trick? Here are our secrets:
- Boiled beets are similar in texture and color to poke: smooth and creamy. Sure, turnips are a darker pink color than light pink ahi tuna: but they come close! Cut them into cubes to simulate reality.
- Stir in poke sauce and beets immediately absorb the aromas of soy, toasted sesame oil, garlic, ginger and green onions. It’s pretty incredible. You have to taste it to believe it!
- Add filling vegetable protein to your bowl. Because beets contain no protein, you need to make sure the other components of your bowl keep them full. With edamame and brown rice, this bowl packs a good amount of protein and fiber.
- Add richness with flavorful mayonnaise. Beets are missing another thing that ahi tuna has: fat! The spicy mayo drizzle brings back some of the richness.
Why Make a Vegan Poke Bowl?
This Vegan Poke Bowl is a delicious and healthy plant-based dinner recipe that tastes amazing while eating your veggies! Thanks to soybean and sesame oil, the turnip sack tastes so buttery and hearty that you feel like you’re eating the real thing. (Though if you’re a lifelong vegan you might not have tried it!)
Alex and I eat a Mediterranean-style seafood diet. That’s why we love our classic poke bowls when we want to treat ourselves to a really good piece of fish. But most of the time we eat mostly plant-based, so we make these two poke bowl recipes. Each one is its own experience: unique and delicious in its own way! It’s also nice to have both recipes if you’re cooking for a mixed crowd. Make the same toppings, then serve either the ahi poke or the vegan beetroot poke!
Mandatory spicy mayo! What if I don’t like the heat?
Good question! Spicy mayonnaise makes this vegan poke bowl stand out. The richness and flavor it adds is key to the bowl experience. We highly recommend it! Here is our spicy mayo recipe. Of course, take the opportunity to find a good vegan mayo; It’s easy to find these days at most grocery stores or online. But what if you can’t take the heat? Here’s what to do:
- Make lime mayonnaise. Mix ½ cup vegan mayonnaise with 1 tbsp lime juice and 1 tsp soy sauce for all the flavor but not the spiciness!
Where does the poke bowl come from?
thrust is a Hawaiian dish! The word is Hawaiian and means “to slice” or “to cut into pieces”. It refers to raw fish cut into cubes. Poke is a Hawaiian-American food, but much of its flavor is influenced by Japanese cuisine: soy sauce, scallions, and sesame oil. Serve the poke with rice, veggies, and other sauces and it becomes a poke bowl.
Interestingly, poke bowls became very popular in North America around 2012. As you can imagine, this has sparked a lot of creativity in terms of exactly what goes in a poke bowl! This vegan poke bowl is non-traditional as it is, of course, a plant-based imitation. For our Classic Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl, see Poke Bowl Recipe.
Vegan Poke Bowl Topping Ideas!
There are so many ways to make an awesome vegan poke bowl! You can easily customize it according to your own preferences. Since the poke here is made with beets, make sure you’re getting plenty of protein and plant-based fiber in this bowl to help keep you full. In this bowl, we’ve added a few light spices to each veg to bring out the flavor. Here’s what you’ll find in this poke bowl, then some other ideas:
Toppings in this poke bowl
- short grain rice Use white or brown! Traditionally it’s white sushi rice, we tend to go brown because it has more fiber and nutrients.
- Edamame frozen and thawed, well salted
- radish If you can find watermelon radishes, they’re a great color!
- Lawyer also adds fullness and fills
- carrots are beautiful for the color
- Green Onion adds crunch
- Spicy mayonnaise adds wealth: it’s a must!
- Sesame seeds
More ideas for vegan poke bowl toppings
- Marinated Tofu: For even more protein, add this delicious Marinated Tofu.
- Cucumber Seaweed Salad: Take 1 large English cucumber and cut into long thin strips (3 cups; we used a julienne peeler). Mix with 1 ½ tbsp rice vinegar, 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil.
- cucumber slices: Even easier, just slice it thinly!
- Red cabbage: Grate it and add a little toasted sesame oil
- Vegan Ponzu Sauce like this one
This recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.
The description
How to make a vegan poke bowl! You’ll be surprised how much flavor comes from the pickled turnip sack, colorful vegetables, and tangy mayonnaise.
For the turnip sack
- 6 medium turnips (or pre-cooked turnips to save time*)
- 3 tablespoons soy pasture
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 small clove of garlic, grated
- ½ teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon chopped spring onion
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
For the poke bowl
- 1 cup short-grain white rice or brown rice
- 2 cups peeled edamame (thawed)
- 3 Green Onions
- 8th radish
- 1 Lawyer
- 2 medium carrots
- Spicy mayonnaise for drizzling (use lime juice instead of hot sauce for a non-spicy version)
- For garnish: toasted sesame seeds, microgreens or sprouts (optional)
- Boil beets*: Use How to Boil Beets (takes about 40 minutes total) or Instant Pot Beets (takes 25 minutes). Peel the beets according to the recipe, then cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
- Prepare rice: Prepare the rice on the stovetop or in an Instant Pot. When it’s ready, give it a few dashes of rice vinegar and add salt to taste. (Or prepare the rice and heat it on the stove with some water.)
- Season beets: Place the cooked beets in a bowl and mix in the soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, grated garlic, ginger, chopped green onions, and kosher salt.
- Prepare the vegetables: Thinly slice the spring onions and radishes. Slice the avocado. Cut the carrots into julienne strips (or use a vegetable peeler to peel the strips). Sprinkle all the vegetables with salt.
- Surcharge: Put the vegetables and rice in a bowl. Garnish with the beetroot poke and garnish the poke with sesame seeds. Drizzle with spicy mayonnaise and serve.
Remarks
* Many grocery stores now sell pre-cooked beets that are packaged and ready to eat. Buy them to save time in this recipe!
- Category: main course
- Method: Cook
- Kitchen: vegan
Keywords: Vegan poke bowl
