Watermelon Poke Bowl

15 Aug Watermelon Poke Bowl

A poke bowl is a classic Hawaiian dish with a pop of red color that traditionally comes from cubed, raw marinated ahi tuna. The word poke means chunk in Hawaiian, and the chunks are typically seafood- whether tuna, salmon, hamachi, or octopus. I was inspired by the farm to use chunks of fresh picked watermelon for a vegan version of a traditional poke dish. As an added bonus, poke also features fresh edamame beans, which are also currently being harvested at the farm.

Watermelon Poke Bowl

Ingredients:
4 cups cubed watermelon (seedless)
3 Tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp rice vinegar
4 cups cooked rice or quinoa
2 sweet peppers
1 sweet onion
1 quart edamame beans
1 cucumber
1 avocado
2 Tbsp sesame seeds

• Place cubed watermelon on paper towel lined sheet pan. Place paper towels over top and allow to sit for 30 minutes to remove some of the moisture from the watermelon.  After 30 minutes, place watermelon cubes in a medium bowl.
• In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. Whisk to fully combine and then pour over watermelon.  Toss to coat the watermelon and allow to marinate for 30 minutes.

• Prepare toppings-
  • Sweet peppers: remove stem and seeds; cut into rounds
  • Sweet onion: peel and thinly slice using mandolin
  • Edamame beans: clean pods by removing the stem; place in a small pot of boiling water; boil for 5 minutes (they should turn bring green); remove from water and allow to cool for a couple of minutes; gently squeeze the pods and the beans will come out easily; place in a small bowl and sprinkle with a little sea salt
  • Cucumber: peel and slice in half; using a spoon, remove the seeds; slice into half moons
  • Avocado: remove seed and skin; thinly slice

• Assemble bowls-
  • Place rice or quinoa in bottom of bowl.
  • Top with marinated watermelon cubes, sweet pepper rounds, sweet onion slices, edamame beans, cucumbers, and avocado slices.
  • Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
  • You can also drizzle on some extra soy sauce or some of the marinade from the watermelon.
• Enjoy!