🍉 Watermelon Poke Bowl - Vegan and Refreshing

Name: 🍉 Watermelon Poke Bowl - Vegan and Refreshing
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: Grated zest of 1 lemon; Fresh ginger, cut into a 1-inch cube, peeled, and grated; 1 tablespoon agave nectar - or if you're not fully vegan, I like using honey; 3/4 teaspoon cayenne - depending on how spicy you like things, you may want to start with 1/4 teaspoon and work your way up; 3/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt; 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice; 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar; 1/3 cup soy sauce (low-sodium is ok); 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil; 3 pound seedless watermelon (small melon); 2 tablespoons tahini; Sushi Rice - optional. I use short grain brown rice, but any rice can work, or mix it in with a bed of vegetable greens or rice noodles; 2 scallions, white and pale-green parts, thinly sliced - about 2 teaspoons of sliced scallions per bowl, optional; 1 cup cilantro leaves with tender stems, optional; Toasted sesame seeds, white or black, optional; 1 cucumber, thinly sliced into half moons. I like Persian cucumbers because of the thin skin, but if you have a regular cucumber, skin it, cut in half, and scoop out the seeds - more of an eyeball for how much cucumber you like in your bowl. Optional; 1 Avocado, optional - about 1/4 avocado per bowl; extra firm tofu, diced into small 1/2 inch cubes, optional

13 steps

Mashup of recipes from Heidi Swanson of 101cookbooks.com and Bon Appetit - marinating the watermelon TRULY makes it taste (and look!) like a poke bowl. You can try different kinds of toppings - just look at a poke menu for inspiration! My must-haves are cucumber, sesame seeds, and scallion.

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 12:08:27 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Good

Glycemic Index

Low

Glycemic Load

Moderate

Nutrition per serving

Calories208.1 kcal (10%)

Total Fat14.8 g (21%)

Carbs18.5 g (7%)

Sugars11.9 g (13%)

Protein3.3 g (7%)

Sodium636.3 mg (32%)

Fiber2.6 g (9%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

6 servings

Marinade

1grated zest of lemon

fresh ginger

cut into a 1-inch cube, peeled, and grated

1 tablespoonagave nectar

or if you're not fully vegan, i like using honey

¾ teaspooncayenne

depending on how spicy you like things, you may want to start with 1/4 teaspoon and work your way up

¾ teaspoonfine-grain sea salt

1 tablespoonfreshly squeezed lemon juice

¼ cuprice vinegar

unseasoned

⅓ cupsoy sauce

low-sodium, is ok

2 tablespoonsextra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoonstoasted sesame oil

Poke Bowl

3 poundseedless watermelon

small melon

2 tablespoonstahini

sushi rice

optional, i use short grain brown rice, but any rice can work, or mix it in with a bed of vegetable greens or rice noodles

2scallions

white and pale-green parts, thinly sliced 2 teaspoons sliced scallions per bowl, optional

1 cupcilantro leaves

with tender stems, optional

toasted sesame seeds

white or black, optional

1cucumber

thinly sliced into half moons, i like persian cucumbers because of the thin skin, but if you have a regular cucumber, skin it, cut in half, and scoop out the seeds - more of an eyeball for how much cucumber you like in your bowl optional

1avocado

optional 1/4 avocado per bowl

firm tofu

diced into small 1/2 inch cubes, optional

Instructions

Ginger Soy Marinade

Step 1

Make the sauce by combining the zest, ginger, honey, cayenne, and salt in a food processor (or use a hand blender) and process until smooth. Add the lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy suace, and pulse to combine. With the machine running, drizzle in the oils.

Food ProcessorMix

Prepare the watermelon

Step 2

Slice the watermelon into cubes that are roughly 1/2-inch - 3/4-inch in width. Transfer to a large bowl or container. Pour the sauce over the top of the watermelon and gently toss. Refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight. If you remember to toss the watermelon once or twice along the way, even better.

Knife

Extra Watermelon Step (optional)

Step 3

You can choose to scoop the watermelon from the marinade and use as-is, or you can give it a little extra texture (and make it even more fish-like) with these tips from Bon Appetit.

Step 4

Heat a large skillet on medium.

Step 5

Strain the watermelon from the marinade. Reserve the liquid.

Step 6

Cook watermelon, tossing often, until lightly caramelized and dried out, 6–8 minutes. Set aside

CooktopHeat

Step 7

Meanwhile, whisk in 2 Tablespoons of Tahini to the reserved marinade

Whisk

Step 8

Bring the marinade to a boil in a small sauce pan, then simmer for 15-20 min, stirring occasionally, until it's thickened and can coat the back of a spoon. (you may want to check at 10 min - mine took a while, but depends on your stove!)

CooktopHeat

Step 9

Chill the sauteed watermelon and thickened sauce for at least an hour.

Assemble the Poke bowls

Step 10

Add the bottom layer to your poke bowl - rice, greens, rice noodles, or a mix of all.

Step 11

Scoop and add a good amount of watermelon poke with some of the juices.

Step 12

Add your toppings - thinly sliced avocado, small diced tofu, sliced scallions, sliced cucumber, lightly chopped cilantro, and a good sprinkle of sesame seeds on top

Step 13

Drizzle the thickened sauce if you made it, otherwise, use some of the excess poke marinade or soy sauce