Before I went vegan, I used to really enjoy eating fish sushi and ahi tuna bowls. Since I went vegan almost 8 years ago, fish is one of those foods I still occasionally miss - specifically sushi grade tuna and salmon. When we were out in California (more info on that coming soon — in the next parts of my road trip blog I still have to finish writing!) I fell in love with a watermelon poke bowl from Joi Cafe in Ventura County. Considering that watermelon is one of my favorite foods PERIOD… (and that I also dabble in being a part time fruitarian) I knew this was a recipe I wanted to try making at home. It may sound a little odd until you try it.. but if you like watermelon and like poke bowls, this is guaranteed to become your new favorite meal.
This one has a few components to prepare separate, so if you struggle with ADHD like me I suggest having a friend or partner help out in the kitchen to ensure all the prep work and separate parts of the recipe get done efficiently 😂. This full recipe will take about 1 hour to prepare, so plan ahead. I ordered the directions so anything that has to sit for an hour will be done first, so I suggest following them in order!
Ingredients:
¼-½ of a large watermelon, (or a personal mini melon) chopped up into small cubes
1 package of tofu, cubed
6 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon of agave
2 scallions or green onions minced
2 tablespoons of fresh minced ginger (or paste or powder)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon of chili flakes or powder
Cabbage, thinly sliced
Cucumber, peeled and sliced
Carrot, sliced or peeled into ribbons
Avocado, sliced
Tomato, sliced
Package of frozen edamame, shelled
Rice or rice noodles, cooked
Sesame seeds
1 cup cashews
6 tablespoons + of water
Juice of one lemon
Sea salt
2 tablespoons of maple syrup OR 2 pitted dates
2 tablespoons, Sriracha sauce or more to taste
Directions:
Chop that watermelon and tofu into cubes.
Mix all of the marinade ingredients (everything from the soy sauce through the chili flakes on the ingredient list) in a large Tupperware, baking dish or bowl with a lid (something large enough to store all that chopped watermelon).
Add watermelon and tofu into the marinade and mix it up or shake container well so watermelon is all well coated. Cover container and store in fridge for 1 hour to soak in the flavors. If you’re able to mix/shake it up once halfway through that hour, even better. Sometimes I plan this the day before and soak overnight. If you’re marinating a lot, feel free to double the marinade recipe.
Early on, it’s also a good time to soak the cup of cashews in water, and let them sit and soften for about an hour while you do everything else. I usually fill a measuring cup with cashews and add filtered water right up to the top so they’re submerged and let it sit. This way they’ll blend soft and smooth later on for our sriracha mayo dressing (which I recommend blending up last once everything else is done!)
Now is your prep period. Time to prep all the other poke bowl ingredients! You are welcome to prepare more or less items than I included on this list, these are just the things I enjoy in our poke bowls.I personally like to use ingredients that add a lot of diversity and color to my meal (and also whatever we conveniently have in the fridge or freezer already!).
Cook some rice until soft and fluffy, and steam the edamame. (Quantities of each are up to you, how many bowls are you preparing and do you want leftovers? I don’t measure anything when I cook, I just make a lot of food and plan for leftovers). Rice noodles are a tasty alternative too if you prefer a noodle bowl to a rice bowl. You could even use quinoa or a bed of greens for a healthier base if you want.
Chop up the cabbage, cucumber, carrot, tomato, avocado and any other veggies you’re using. If you don’t have many veggies on hand, I recommend at the bare minimum to include an avocado. It’s essential!
Once it’s been at least an hour, it’s time to cook the main attractions of your poke bowl. You can leave the watermelon raw, or get more of a “seared tuna” vibe by air frying. Tofu actually tastes great raw as well, but I love tofu that’s cooked perfectly in an air fryer! I usually air fry both the watermelon and tofu pieces, spread out for 15 minutes on the high watt setting and they come out perfect. You can also try pan frying or baking them if you don’t have an air fryer (but I haven’t personally tried this with the watermelon).
When they are ready, it’s time to build your bowl. I like using a BIG ole’ bowl for my poke, but any salad or soup bowl will do.
First layer a plump serving of rice or noodles on the base of each bowl. Top with veggies, tofu, and watermelon. You should also scoop up some extra marinade that the tofu and watermelon were soaking in and pour it all over the entire poke bowl for extra flavor.
Now blend up the spicy mayo ingredients! Drain your cashews and blend them together in a small blender cup with the water, lemon juice, salt, maple syrup or dates, and sriracha. 2 tablespoons of sriracha makes a mild sauce. If you like it spicy feel free to add more. If you want the sauce to be thinner (I like it thin enough so I can drizzle it over the poke bowls) just add more water before blending. What I love about this “mayo” is it’s creamy and flavorful.. but if you’re not a huge fan of mayo you’ll still love this because it’s more of a flavorful dressing than actual mayonnaise. It reminds me of the spicy mayo sauce you get in an authentic sushi place, but it’s oil free and healthy for you so you can literally pour it over whatever you want and even get some wholesome protein from the cashews. Try adding it to sandwiches too… so tasty!
Drizzle the spicy mayo dressing over the poke bowls, or serve on the side - up to you. Sprinkle on some sesame seeds and serve. However you prepare your poke bowls, they’ll be beautiful and delicious. Other hacks we LOVE are wrapping the bowl ingredients in a nori wrapper (seaweed) for handheld sushi, or if you wanted to get fancy you can use these for well wrapped sushi rolls as well. You can modify your veggies and add some mango and/or pineapple for a more tropical Hawaiian inspired bowl. There is SO much versatility with this - no matter how you enjoy your poke, you can’t go wrong. The best part though is this is cruelty-free and entirely plant-based.
Recipe contents inspired by Tasty.co & Detoxinista ❤️
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