How delightful! I have just dicovered something new to put on my table. POKE BOWLS. If you haven’t tried Poke Bowls or Buddha Bowls please have fun and make them for the family. They are originally Hawiian and are just a wonderful way to serve everyone with whatever they like. With a base of noodles or rice and delicious veggies piled on top you might think this would be ordinary but they are fabulously delish.
What goes in a Poke Bowl?
Served at room temperature.
Step 1
Prepare your favourite noodles and whether it is oodon, rice, egg, thick or thin, it doesn’t matter. Any rice long grain, white, jasmine or brown. Let them cool while you chop and make bowls of almost any salad veg you have in the fridge or freezer.
Step 2
Choose any of the following and slice or dice them.
FROZEN peas. beans, shelled edamame, corn.
Peas, beans broccoli fresh or frozen. If frozen pour somne boiling water over and then drain to cool.
Radish, cucumber, spring onion, nori, artichoke,roasted pumpkin, zucchini, tofu (fried) , carrot, corn, capsicum, small cherry tomatoes chopped, snow peas,julienned yam bean, very finely shredded nori and or cabbage. Really any veg at all.
Pickled ginger ( very important for flavour)
Chopped cashews or peanuts
Fruit mango, pineapple, avocado, tomato.
Sprinkle toppings of toasted sesame seeds or crunchy or Changs noodles. These also come as Gluten Free.
Step 3
CHOOSE A MEAT OR PROTEIN
You don’t need a lot of meat to feed 4 peope. Below is the table set ready to make the bowls. Small pieces of teriyaki fried chicken, cooked white fish or tuna, cooked prawns or fried beef with oyster sauce. This gives the yummy flavour to your bowl. If you are vegetarian try firm tofu fried.
PERFECT SAUCE/DRESSING
I use PONZU sauce , MIRIN, and light Japanese soy or tamari which are not expensive and available at all supermarkets.
For 4 bowls
1/4 cup ponzu sauce 2 Tbs Japanese soy
1 tsp sesame oil 1 Tbs teriyaki sauce
1 Tbs Mirin,
Optional squeeze of lemon or lime or orange.
MAKING UP THE BOWL
Put 1 cup of your rice or noodles (cooked as per packet).Drain them and let cool to room temp. Poke bowls only need about 2 T BS of cooked rice or noodles.
Divide the rice/noodles between the bowls and pour 2 tbs of sauce over the rice.
Place bowls of chopped and diced veggies and fruit in the centre of the table ( as above), The idea is to put a good spoonful of what ever you like around the bowl and sprinkle with sesame seeds. You can add a little more sauce over the top.
Make sure you encourage everyone to have a large a variety of veggies in their bowl. Particularly children at your table.
Enjoy!
