Vegan Poke Bowl
Vegan poke bowl – it looks like tuna, tastes like tuna, but believe it or not, it’s made from plants. Chop a seedless watermelon into cubes and watch it transform into the most realistic plant based tuna. Like authentic tuna, this vegan version is buttery, silky, and smooth.
Baked Watermelon
I went through a lot of trial and error with the watermelon tuna, but I finally figured out HOW to perfect the “tuna” – this isn’t a quick, instant gratification process by any means, but once you make the tuna it lasts for a week. To note:
- The watermelon should be baked for at least 50 minutes flipping halfway through. I always check on mine after 30 minutes which gives me a good idea of how much more time they need. The texture should be that of tuna – silky, buttery, and smooth.
- Make sure to spread watermelon out – they will shrink quite a bit and lose a ton of water, so cut them into large chunks and give them space to breathe on the tray. I used 2 large trays and had enough tuna for a week.
- The watermelon lose nearly all of their water, so they don’t have the same nutritional benefits as they do raw. The point of this dish is to mimic tuna – the watermelon tuna is definitely not unhealthy, but it’s not packed with nutrients either.
Vegan Poke Toppings
You can get creative and top your watermelon tuna on any kind of base. It’s amazing on my JAPANESE CUCUMBER SALAD. In this particular recipe, I used brown rice as a base and added simple toppings including edamame, nori, and fresh ginger. But this recipe begs for creativity! Avocado, carrots, sprouts, radish, green onions, mushrooms, nuts, cucumber – switch it up and see what you like best!
Marinade
This marinade is so flavorful and works as a delicious garnish for other recipes. The tuna is both cooked and soaked in this marinade. The overnight marination process helps to maintain the texture and provide it with flavor. If you want your tuna to taste more simple, or you don’t want the traditional Hawaiian poke flavors, you can make a much simpler marinade made up of:
Sesame oil + kelp granules. That’s it! The oil gives the tuna that fatty texture, and the kelp gives it the fishy flavor. For one regular size seedless watermelon, it requires about 1/4 cup of oil.
This recipe is truly mind blowing and exciting to eat as a vegan – I was never a huge fan of fish, but to be able to eat a vegan version that tastes realistic goes to show you really can make anything vegan!
Vegan Poke Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 seedless watermelon
Marinade
- ½ cup Tamari
- 2 tbsp Tahini
- ¼ cup Sesame Oil
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Kelp Granules, optional; adds a fishier taste
- 1 tbsp Ginger Powder, can sub for minced fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp Furikake
- ¼ cup Water
Bowl
- ½ cup Brown Rice, any rice works fine
- 2 tsp Rice Vinegar, (for the rice)
- ½ cup Edamame
- ½ Lime, juice from, optional
- 1 sheet Nori
- Fresh Ginger
- Sesame Seeds, topping
- ¼ tsp Sea Salt, topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add all marinade ingredients to a blender and blend for 1 minute or so. If you don't have a blender, you can simply whisk the ingredients in a bowl.
- Chop your watermelon into even cubes - keep in mind the cubes shrink half the size, so don't cut them too small.
- Separate the watermelon onto baking trays (make sure they’re not too crowded!) and lightly coat them using half the marinade.
- Bake for 30 minutes then stir the cubes. Add them back into the oven for another 25 minutes then check to make sure the texture is right. Depending on the size of your cubes and your specific oven, this could take longer or shorter so continuously check up on them. It's better to overcook them than undercook them, so don't be nervous if they start charring - that's normal!
- Once the watermelon is done, they should have a tuna-like consistency. Silky, smooth, and buttery. Add them into a plastic bag with the rest of the marinade, give it a good shake, and leave in the fridge for at LEAST 24 hours.
- After 24 hours, remove each "tuna" one by one on a paper towel. Use another paper towel to lightly tap some of the marinade off. Serve in a bowl with all your favorite poke toppings!