Homemade Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl
A few weeks ago, CJ and I went on a trip to Nantucket with some friends, and let me just say that if you’re a beach-town kind of person and you haven’t been there yet, GO. It was a quick trip for us and the weather was a little chillier than we would’ve liked, but it was probably the cutest getaway we’ve ever done. The trip was summed up with ferry rides across the island, tons of fresh seafood, quaint little shops along the town, and lots of sangria and craft beer from the vineyard/distillery/brewery all-in-one (yeah, imagine that).
We all went out to a cute restaurant Millie's, one of the nights and ordered this Tuna Poke bowl for an appetizer, and just about finished the entire thing in under two minutes. It was that good. Ever since we’ve been back from the trip, all I feel like having to eat is fresh fish, but it’s just not the same when you make it yourself. BUT I did recreate this poke bowl recipe the other night and it was a pretty decent runner-up if I do say so myself. CJ’s not very picky, but he can also attest.
We had grilled some tuna steaks the night before and had a bunch leftover, so I figured it was the best time to make my recipe! It’s not necessary to grill/cook/do anything beforehand to the tuna if you’re making this, but it’s just what we had. I used PaleOMG’s recipe as a baseline and adapted:
Ingredients
- 1-2 tuna steaks
- 1 package shredded cauliflower for the “rice”
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 medium cucumber, diced
- 1 medium avocado, diced
- green onions, diced
- ¼ cup coconut aminos
- ½ tsp rice wine vinegar
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- 3 tblsp high-heat avocado oil
- pickled ginger (optional)
- black and white sesame seeds
- sriracha to taste
Directions
Whisk together the coconut aminos, rice vinegar, and sesame oil in a small bowl to create the marinade. Pour the marinade into a shallow dish and place the tuna steak pieces inside. Let that sit and chill inside the refrigerator for at least an hour (if you can wait longer than 1 hr, the marinade will soak in a bit more, making the taste a little stronger).
While it’s marinating, chop the veggies. Red pepper, cucumber, green onions, avocado, and carrots. Set them aside. Pour 1-2 tblsp of the avocado oil into a medium-sized skillet and heat on medium-high heat. Steam the cauliflower “rice” in the microwave for two minutes and then pour into the skillet to saute. I added some sriracha to the cauliflower at this point to add some extra flavor.
Once the rice is cooked, begin filling the bowls. Add the veggies on top of the rice, and set the bowls aside.
Add the remaining avocado oil to the pan, and add the chilled tuna, searing each side for at least 1 minute (or longer depending on how cooked you want the tuna to be). Let the seared tuna sit to cool on a cutting board for a couple minutes before slicing.
Thinly slice the tuna steaks and add to the bowls. Garnish with the pickled ginger, sesame seeds, and sriracha! If there’s any marinade left, drizzle into the bowls.
While this was cooking, I also diced some sweet potatoes for our side. I put them on a foil-lined baking sheet, sprinkled some garlic herb seasoning on top, and let them bake in the oven at 450 degrees for about twenty minutes, flipping sides half-way through. For a crispier finish, I let them stay in for a few more minutes and just judge when they’re ready to come out. They were a great accompaniment to the dinner!
Hope you enjoy!
xo Erin