Tofu Poke Recipe
Today we are making a Tofu Poke Recipe! If you haven’t heard of it before, poke (Poh-keh) is diced raw fish (usually ahi tuna or octopus). It can be served as an appetizer or main course, and is a part of Hawaiian cuisine. Poke began when Hawaiian fishermen used to cut up smaller fish to eat. They served them raw and massaged in salt, candlenuts, kukui nuts, seaweeds, and/or limu (brown algae). So a poke bowl focuses on the poke fish, with other additions to make a bowl all full of the colorful veggies, nuts and more.
Hawaii’s favorite dish? Poke restaurants are now popping up all over the world, but is still a favorite in its place of origin, Hawaii. In the past, when immigrants from East Asia brought soy sauce and sesame oil in to the West Coast, there became more options for poke seasonings and coatings. Since then, these are common ingredients in marinating poke. Around the world, you can find Poke bowls, tacos, nachos, tostadas, sliders and more!
Assembling Vegan Poke Bowl Recipe
There are four parts to this vegan Hawaiian Poke Bowl recipe: homemade spicy aquafaba mayo, marinated tofu in a delicious ginger-soy sauce, fresh veggies and a base of rice. In traditional Hawaiian Poke bowls, you would take sashimi tuna, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, garlic, green onions, and other condiments. Marinate these for an hour in the fridge, and you have poke that you can serve over grains and with veggies to make a loaded bowl! However, if you’re on this website, you are probably here looking for a vegan poke option, so let’s get to those below.
There are actually brands out there now that make vegan tuna (check out this brand that makes vegan sashimi tuna)! Oyster sauce also isn’t vegan, but there’s vegan brands out there for that too (like this one). Rather than buy items that you may not have available in your local grocery store, I’ve chosen more common ingredients (such as soy sauce instead of oyster sauce) when making the bowls!
Why You’ll Love This Tofu Poke Recipe
Customizable, Veggie-Filled Salad: This easy recipe is great to pack for a healthy lunch! It’s full of healthy fats, protein, vegetables and grains for a complete meal.
Homemade Spicy Mayo: This spicy mayo is made using chickpea water, otherwise known as aquafaba. It is the water that is taken from the top of a can of chickpeas, which whips just like egg whites!
Substitutions
Agave Syrup: Use another liquid sweetener, such as 100% pure maple syrup.
Aquafaba: This is chickpea water, aka the best thing I’ve discovered since going vegan. This is actually the water taken from the top of a can of chickpeas (or boil chickpeas and make your own aquafaba like this recipe here).
There are no substitutions for aquafaba, because chickpea water has the most starch as compared to liquid from other beans or lentils. This whips just like egg whites would, which really surprised me because I usually pour the canned water down the drain!
However, if you are not using an aquafaba base at all for the mayo, you can also mix some chili garlic sauce with vegan mayonnaise bought from the grocery store. This is a super quick way to make vegan spicy mayo!
Chili Garlic Sauce: This is also known as sambal oelek, but you can also use a red hot sauce as well.
Grapeseed Oil: Olive oil or avocado oil can whip like grapeseed oil. Canola oil and vegetable oil would work as well, but they are more processed. Cold pressed, organic oils would be the healthiest options here.
Black Sesame Seeds: White sesame seeds.
Tamari: Soy sauce (either dark or light), or for a low-sodium option use coconut aminos.
Long Grain Brown Rice: Parboiled rice, long grain white rice or sticky rice (sushi rice for a sushi bowl).
Purple / Red Cabbage: White/green cabbage.
Extra Firm Tofu: Tempeh can work as a substitute for tofu.
Pickled Beets: Pickled white or red onions, sweet onions, pickled cucumbers or omit these.
Tofu Poke Recipe Notes
- Make sure to use the smallest grater hole type for the fresh ginger in the tofu marinade.
- Use a tofu press to drain tofu of extra water before marinading. This is optional, but makes for more crispy tofu. If you don’t have a tofu press, you can also cover a block of extra-firm tofu with layers of paper towels, then press it down with a heavy object and leave it for a few hours.
- There will be remaining marinade at the bottom of the bowl in which you marinated the tofu in. You can pour this extra liquid over the veggies!
More Healthy Recipes You’ll Love
Ginger Coconut Infused Eggplant & Squash
Mediterranean Braised Eggplant & Chickpeas
Fettuccine Alfredo Sauce (without Cashews)
If you make this Tofu Poke Recipe, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!
Tofu Poke Recipe
Equipment
- Electric Mixer
- Stovetop Pot, to cook the brown rice
Ingredients
For the Mayo
- 3 tbsp aquafaba whipped chickpea liquid
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp chili garlic sauce
- ¼ tsp paprika
- 1½ tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp agave or sub a different liquid sweetener like coconut nectar
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup grapeseed oil or sub olive oil
For the Veggies and Rice
- 1 cup cooked long grain brown rice
- ½ medium cucumber cut into wide strips
- 1 large carrot julienned
- ¼ cup pickled beets chopped
- 1 seaweed paper cut into strips
- 2 tbsp black sesame seeds
- ⅔ cup steamed, sauteed, or raw purple cabbage chopped. I sauteed the cabbage in a bit of oil over medium heat on the stovetop, until it was not raw and bitter anymore for a few minutes.
- 1 medium avocado
For the Tofu
- ½ block extra firm tofu cut into rectangles
- 2 tbsp tamari
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- ¼ tbsp sambal oelek
- 1½ tsp rice vinegar
- ¼ thumb ginger grated
Instructions
- Cook the brown rice in a stovetop pan in advance according to the instructions on the back of the package. Cook only about ½ cup so that it will double in size to make 1 cup.
- Cut all the veggies and set aside (and cut the carrots into long strips so they can be rolled up like in the pictures).
- For the tofu, either use a tofu press to drain the water, or wrap the tofu in a thick towel and put something heavy on it for 10 minutes to drain excess water out of it. Cut it after the extra water has been drained.
- Mix together the tofu marinade ingredients in a bowl, then add the tofu in and mix it around every few minutes to get an even coat. Allow it to sit for a half hour.
- Now add the tofu to a pan over medium heat on the stove. Cook it, moving it around every minute, and flipping it over to toast both sides.
- Now with the brown rice, tofu and veggies done, make the mayo. Start by opening a can of chickpeas and draining half the liquid into a sterile bowl. Make sure it is absolutely clean and dry – any contaminants will not allow the liquid to whip.
- Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer, turn it to high and whip the chickpea liquid for about 10 minutes until it forms stiff white peaks (looks like whipped egg whites/meringue). Slowly drizzle in the oil while the mixer is going, as well as the rest of the ingredients one by one. It should form into a nice and thick mayonnaise consistency.
- This should take about 15 minutes. Once the mayo is done, you have everything ready to assemble the bowls.
- Split the ingredients between two bowls. Start by adding brown rice to the bottom of the bowls, in the middle. Layer the veggies and tofu all around the edges, then top with the spicy mayo and sesame seeds.
- Enjoy right away!
