This vegan poke bowl is easy to make and much cheaper at home than at a restaurant. Make your own creative vegan poke bowl recipe using your favorite veggies! This plant-based poke bowl is my favorite go-to recipe.
Choosing half-raw and half-cooked food is the trick to making a vegan poke bowl recipe. What is poke, you may ask? Poke means cooked, raw, hot, and cold, all simultaneously. To make a vegan poke bowl think of the best fresh and raw veggies and then combine them into a delicious poke bowl.
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For instance, I grilled the marinated tofu for my vegan poke bowl and cooked the pickled onions and the brown rice. Conversely, the rest of the bowl is full of raw vegetables and kimchi.
The pickled red onions are simple to make and brew in the refrigerator. Also, the marinated tofu absorbs more flavors if it marinates overnight.
Despite the quick and easy preparation, the tofu and the brown rice need to be cooked beforehand, but these ingredients don’t have to be served hot. In fact, I prefer the vegan poke bowl recipe cold; however, it can be served hot or cold.
What is a Vegan Poke Bowl?
Created in Hawaii, the poke bowl resembles other bowl recipes, but the blend of raw and cooked food makes it unique. Although slightly spicy, the cold elements cool the heat and strengthen all the flavors.
Poke means “to slice or cut” in Hawaiian but generally refers to raw fish. Because this poke bowl is vegan, I used tofu instead of fish. The rest, however, combines flavors typically in a poke bowl recipe.
Since poke usually includes fish, adding seaweed provides the perfect flavor to the bowl. Another way to add a sea-like taste to the poke bowl, try dulse, a red seaweed that grows wild in the cold waters of the Northwest Pacific Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean. This dried seaweed crumbled tastes similar to seaweed sheets.
Vegan Poke Bowl Ingredients
- Romaine Lettuce: Research tells us that romaine lettuce nutrition is actually quite impressive due to its high level of antioxidants and other crucial vitamins and minerals — including vitamins A and C, folate, vitamin K, and more.
- Live Lettuce: ‘Living lettuce’ is sold with a small, clean root ball attached. This lettuce is grown on water, in special gutters, or on floating platforms. The root ball remains attached to the lettuce until the leaves are picked for consumption.
- Red Bell Peppers: Red bell peppers are the sweetest bell peppers.
- Pickled Red Onions: I like to add a little tanginess to my poke bowl by adding pickled red onions.
- Radishes: I used radishes for a crunch. I love watermelon radishes, but sometimes it’s difficult to find them. Watermelon radishes add a beautiful color to any poke bowl or salad.
- Cucumber: I prefer using English cucumbers because they are firmer and contain fewer seeds.
- Carrots: Carrots add sweetness and a beautiful rainbow color to the poke bowl.
- Avocado: Avocado adds creaminess to the bowl, but don’t add it until right before serving the bowl so it doesn’t turn brown.
- Kimchi: I love the spiciness of kimchi. Although my husband makes kimchi, I used a Simply Truth Spicy Kimchi I found at Frys (Kroger) today. Kimchi comes in mild if you don’t like spicy kimchi.
- Cooked Brown Rice: Cook the brown rice and refrigerate if eating the bowl cold, or cook it and serve it warm.
- Extra-Firm Tofu: I used extra firm tofu marinated overnight.
Vegan Poke Bowl Ingredient Substitutions
- Even though I chose to include my favorite vegetables, any vegetables can be changed to meet your individual taste. Like going to a Poke Bowl Restaurant, the choices are all yours.
- Any greens work well for a vegan poke bowl; kale, collard greens, or beet greens are a few suggestions.
- Choose raw red onion instead of pickled red onions.
- Green onions are also a great option to add to a poke bowl.
- Kimchi can be purchased in mild or spicy, but I suggest squeezing it dry before adding any kimchi into the bowl.
- Try chickpea tofu for a soy-free option.
- Jasmine rice is also popular for poke bowls, and some people enjoy sushi rice.
I also like to think as I evolve, my recipes get better, as does my creativity. I want to show you how easy it is to make a poke bowl for this particular post.
However, these particular ingredients are my vegan poke bowl recipe favorites.
How to Marinate and Cook Tofu
As I have recommended before, marinating tofu overnight is the key to tasty and enjoyable tofu. But, first, the tofu needs to be pressed and dried before marinating.
If you are new to cooking with tofu, follow the directions provided in the following link—pressed Tofu for Grilling, Baking, Air-frying, or Cooking in a Skillet.
Tofu Marinade
- Soy Sauce: Soy sauce provides a salty, umami flavor to the marinade.
- Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar sweetens the marinade and provides acidity.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is the best choice when making the marinade for the best flavor.
- Ginger: I suggest freshly grated ginger for the best flavor.
Tofu Marinade Substitutions
- For a gluten-free option, try Tamari or liquid aminos instead of soy sauce.
- Try low-sodium soy sauce if you follow a low-sodium diet.
- One clove of fresh garlic equals ¼ teaspoon of granulated garlic powder. The same conversion applies to dehydrated or freeze-dried garlic or even minced refrigerated garlic.
- Converting fresh ginger to ground ginger and vice versa is easy. However, you’ll need to use more because ground ginger is more concentrated. For every ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger, use 1 tablespoon of fresh-grated ginger in recipes.
Once the tofu is pressed, using a tofu press, cut the tofu into 4 pieces and place in a refrigerator safe container with the marinade overnight.
Cooking Options
Although I prefer grilled tofu, you can also bake the tofu for the vegan poke recipe in the oven. Regardless of the cooking method you choose, you will love this marinade’s rich deep Asian flavors.
Baking
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silicone Baking Mat.
- Drain excess marinade into a different container
- Bake tofu for 15 minutes, turn it over with a spatula and cook for another 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
- Then, put the cooked tofu back into the container with the excess marinade.
- Toss
Grilling
- First, to grill the perfect tofu on the grill, pre-heat the grill to medium or 400 degrees.
- Then, arrange the tofu directly on the grill for a total of 20 minutes, flipping four times to get the pretty grill marks.
- Next, I return the tofu to the container to soak up more marinade.
- At this point, you have two choices; cut it in cubes now and use it, or put it in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
Air-Frying
- Place tofu in the base of the air-fryer in a single layer, not overlapping pieces.
- Batch cook at 370 degrees for 15 minutes, rotating the tofu 7 minutes into cooking.
- Remove and repeat with the remaining batch of tofu.
Making the Vegan Poke Bowl
Another suggestion is to arrange the vegan poke bowl alternating hot and cold foods to get a little of each in every bite.
For this poke bowl, I chose a combination of live and Romaine lettuce as my base; you choose your favorite greens and form a base with a hole in the middle for each bowl.
Then, I made brown rice. Although my rice is not hot, it is warm to the taste. During meal prep, I make a bunch of brown rice, so I heat the amount I want for a particular vegan poke bowl recipe. Once it reaches a warm temperature, I put it in the hole in the middle of the bowl.
Now, it’s time to add whatever your favorite poke bowl toppings are. I chose chopped vegan Kimchi, thin cucumber slices, sliced radishes, shredded carrots, red bell pepper, avocado, and my simple rosemary infused pickled red onions for this bowl. Arrange your ingredients on top of the lettuce in a circular pattern.
Poke Bowl Dressing Ingredients
- Miso Paste: I used white miso paste.
- Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar helps to sweeten the dressing but also provides acidity.
- Maple Syrup: Maple syrup gives it extra flavor as well as a sweetener.
- Tamari Sauce: Tamari is used for an umami flavor in the dressing.
- Water: The water thins the dressing.
- Ginger: Fresh ginger gives the dressing a distinct flavor.
- Garlic: I prefer using fresh garlic cloves for the deepest flavor.
- Red Pepper Chili Flakes (optional): Red pepper flakes give the dressing a little heat.
The final step is adding tofu and garnish for this vegan poke bowl recipe. The recipe for the tofu and the miso sauce is below in the recipe section. Also, one of the key ingredients is roasted seaweed and black sesame seeds.
Recipe FAQs
Poke bowls are chock full of healthy ingredients, such as cucumbers, radishes, seaweed, carrots, radishes, sweet potatoes, avocados, and vitamin- and antioxidant-rich fresh vegetables. Antioxidants eliminate free radicals that can damage cells and have disease-preventing and anti-aging properties.
Poke is a traditional Hawaiian dish, and sushi originates in Japan. Hawaiian food takes a lot of influence from Japanese food, but poke is Hawaiian. Traditionally, poke is made from ahi tuna or octopus (tako) that has been roughly cut into bite-sized pieces and marinated with whatever was on hand.
The secret to being able to eat poke with chopsticks (or anything else) is only to move your pointer and middle fingers. Your thumb, especially, should always stay still.
Tips
- Marinate the tofu overnight for the best results and deepest flavor.
- Choose to eat the vegan poke bowl cold or hot. If eating it cold, make the brown rice and tofu ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to make the bowl.
- Customize the poke bowl with your favorite vegetables combinations.
- Fruit such as pineapple and mandarin oranges also adds an element to the poke bowl.
- Freeze fresh ginger and grate it to keep it fresher and longer.
- Use sheets of seaweed and crumble them for added texture in the poke bowl.
Make a vegan poke bowl at home the next time you’re craving a poke bowl! Customize it to make it your own unique creation.
Other Yummy Asian Vegan Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Poke Bowl
Plant-based vegan poke bowls are easy to make and much cheaper at home than at a restaurant. Make your own creative concoction or try this one; you will love it.
Instructions
Grilling Tofu
First, to grill the perfect tofu on the grill, pre-heat the grill to medium or 400 degrees.
Then, arrange the tofu directly on the grill for 20 minutes, flipping four times to get pretty grill marks.
Next, I return the tofu to the container to soak more marinade.
Now, you have two choices; cut it in cubes and use it, or put it in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
Tofu Marinade
Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender.
Pour marinade over tofu in a storage container or plastic bag and seal and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. I marinate mine overnight.
Cooking Tofu
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silicone Baking Mat.
Drain excess marinade into a different container.
Bake tofu for 15 minutes, turn it over with a spatula, and cook for another 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
Then, add the cooked tofu to the container with the excess marinade.
Toss.
Place tofu in the center, not op of the rice.
Miso Dressing
In a high-speed blender, blend all the ingredients.
Drizzle over salad, tofu, and rice.
Notes
- Marinate the tofu overnight for the best results and deepest flavor.
- Choose to eat the vegan poke bowl cold or hot. If eating it cold, make the brown rice and tofu ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to make the bowl.
- Customize the poke bowl with your favorite vegetable combinations.
- Fruit such as pineapple and mandarin oranges also adds an element to the poke bowl.
- Freeze fresh ginger and grate it to keep it fresher and longer.
- Use sheets of seaweed and crumble them for added texture in the poke bowl.
Nutrition
Serving: 4gCalories: 439kcalCarbohydrates: 72gProtein: 18gFat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 478mgPotassium: 1708mgFiber: 15gSugar: 33gVitamin A: 23032IUVitamin C: 64mgCalcium: 210mgIron: 6mg
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
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