Poke bowls are super trendy right now, but as with most recipes, are hard to find gluten-free. I've asked at so many restaurants down here in Austin and all of them have said they use regular soy sauce or some other sauce with wheat. That's why I decided to make my own version of this Hawaiian dish!
Here's what you'll need:
2 cups of brown rice
5 cups of water
1 thin slice of butter
Salt
1 piece of tuna
Sauce:
1 Tablespoon of apricot jelly (I know, sounds weird, but trust me)
Gluten-free Teriyaki sauce
Lime
Water
Toppings:
1 package of mushrooms
1 squash (zucchini or other variety)
1 head of broccoli
Gluten-free soy sauce
Gluten-free Teriyaki sauce
1 package of dried seaweed
Sesame seeds
1 green onion
1 cucumber
2 Tablespoons of garlic
1 lime
1 can of madarin oranges
For the rice, pour the water, rice, and butter into a pot. Cover it up with a lid and bring this to a boil. Then turn the heat to low and let it simmer until completely cooked. This will take close to 45 minutes.
Next, chop up your veggies. We're going to make 2 different versions of cooked veggies to add to our Poke bowl.
In a skillet, add your olive oil and garlic. Cook these together on medium heat until the garlic is a nice golden brown and then put half of it off to the side. Add your squash and mushrooms to the skillet along with 3-4 dashes of soy sauce. This can take awhile to cook down, but once it's done, scoop it onto a plate.
Then add some more olive oil to the skillet and broccoli. Put a lid over this to help it steam. One your broccoli is a bright green color, remove the lid and add 3-4 dashes of teriyaki sauce to the veggies. Stir well and wait for them to get a nice roasted look.
Once the broccoli's done, remove it from the heat and transfer it to a plate.
Here's a picture of the gluten-free soy sauce and teriyaki sauce that I use. Soy sauce is one of those surprising places that gluten likes to hide. And of course, soy sauce is in almost every Asian dish. I didn't realize until recently that this same brand has a teriyaki sauce too that's gluten-free and it's really good!
We're now going to use these now to make a sauce for our tuna and Poke bowl. Start by adding your apricot jelly and about 5 dashes of Teriyaki sauce to the bowl. Mix this together until there aren't any chunks of jelly. I find it helpful to use a fork to mash it as I stir.
Then add in 1 dash of soy sauce, the rest of your cooked garlic, and 1 Tablespoon of water. Mix this together and then slowly squeeze in lime juice and more water to taste. I find that it usually needs about 1/4 of a squeezed lime and at least 1 more Tablespoon of water.
Next, finely slice your raw tuna, going against the grain. I find that it helps to use a serrated blade and just pull in one direction instead of sliding the blade back and forth. Then place the tuna and half of the sauce we just made in a bowl to refrigerate. Keep the other half of the sauce to pour onto your Poke bowl.
I always get nervous about parasites and raw fish, but I read that tuna almost never contains parasites. To be safe though, freeze your fish for a good 48 hours and then let it defrost in the fridge before using. This way anything unwanted will be killed off.
Chop your cucumbers, green onions, and the rest of your lime into wedges and arrange on a plate.
To cut the seaweed into strips, I find it easiest to use a set of kitchen scissors instead of a knife.
Once you're done, get all of your ingredients together and assemble your bowl. Think of it like a Hawaiian version of Chipotle. You can even add ingredients that aren't listed in the recipe. Things I'd consider adding are bok choy, pineapple, tomatoes, edamame, salmon, ginger, carrots, avocado, radishes, crab. Get creative with it!
Plate and serve.