Easy Spicy Salmon Poke Bowl (at Home!)

Creamy spicy salmon, plenty of spicy mayo and your favorite toppings make this an easy poke bowl to put together at home.

Poke bowls are one of those things I rarely order when eating out. They can get pretty expensive, and there’s never enough sauce for me :’) I love my food saucy, so that second one is a real problem.

Making a spicy salmon poke bowl at home also means I can add exactly what I want. I use seasoned rice, creamy spicy salmon, avocado, edamame, cucumber, mango and radish, with extra sauce on the side.

What is a poke bowl?

A poke bowl is a traditional Hawaiian dish that typically consists of diced, marinated raw fish (often sushi-grade salmon or tuna) served over a bed of rice or salad.

The fish is commonly seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, and other flavorful ingredients. Poke bowls can include a wide variety of fresh vegetables, fruits, seaweed, sauces and dressings, so they’re easy to customize with different toppings.

Origins of poke bowl

The origins of poke bowls can be traced back to Hawaii, where the dish has a rich history rooted in Hawaiian cuisine. The word “poke” in Hawaiian means “to slice” or “to cut” referring to the way the fish is traditionally prepared by slicing it into small, bite-sized pieces.

Historically, poke was a simple dish made with freshly caught fish, sea salt, and seaweed. It was often enjoyed as a snack or a quick meal by fishermen. Over time, poke evolved to include different seasonings and ingredients, including influences from Japanese and other cuisines in Hawaii.

In recent years, poke bowls have become popular far beyond Hawaii, with many different versions now including a wide range of ingredients, toppings and sauces.

Ingredients

• Rice – I always use short-grain rice, specifically Korean or Japanese rice, for poke bowls. I don’t recommend long-grain rice as the texture and flavor are quite different.

rice seasoning

I personally prefer seasoned rice, similar to sushi rice. Plain rice tastes a little bland to me in this type of bowl, but you can skip the seasoning if you prefer it plain.

• Rice vinegar – adjust the amount to your taste, along with the sugar and salt.
• Sugar – use white sugar.
• Salt – use table salt.

salmon

• Salmon – this poke bowl uses raw salmon, but you can also cook the salmon in a pan before mixing it with the sauce.

• Kewpie mayo – it’s creamier and slightly saltier than regular mayonnaise, but regular mayo works too.
• Sriracha – add more if you want the salmon spicier 🙂
• Soy sauce – adds saltiness and umami to the spicy salmon.
• Sesame oil – adds a nutty sesame flavor.

sauce

• Kewpie mayo – regular mayonnaise works too.
• Sriracha – add more for a spicier sauce.
• Soy sauce – adds saltiness and umami.

toppings

• Avocado – slice or dice it, or arrange the slices into an avocado rose like I did here. Use a ripe avocado if you want to make the rose.
• Cucumber – slice or dice the cucumber.
• Edamame
• Radish – thinly sliced radish adds some crunch to the bowl.
• Mango – fresh or frozen both work. Defrost frozen mango completely before adding it.
• Furikake – sprinkle it over the bowl for extra seasoning and a little seaweed flavor.
• Lime – I like adding just a few drops rather than squeezing the whole lime quarter over the bowl.
• Roasted seaweed – optional, but I like using it to wrap bites of rice, salmon and toppings, similar to Korean ssam.

Preparation

1. Prepare the rice – Cook the rice as you normally would (see my guide to cooking rice)
2. Mix all rice seasoning ingredients together. Then pour the seasoning over the cooked warm rice. Using a spatula, mix it well.
3. Make the sauce – Mix all the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
4. Prepare the salmon – In a large bowl, mix together kewpie mayo, sriracha, soy sauce, sesame oil, and diced salmon.
5. Assemble the poke bowl – Place the rice in a bowl, then top it with the salmon, avocado, cucumber, edamame, radish, mango, furikake, lime, and roasted seaweed.
6. (Optional) To create an avocado rose, you’ll need a ripe avocado. Start by slicing it lengthwise as thinly as possible. Arrange the slices in a line, placing them next to each other. Then, carefully roll up the slices from one end to the other to form a rose shape.
7. Serve – Serve the poke bowl with the sauce.

Substitutions

• Protein – swap the salmon for tuna, shrimp, tofu or another protein you like.
• Vegetables – use whichever vegetables you have on hand or prefer in your poke bowl.
• Sauce – adjust the sriracha to make the sauce milder or spicier, or use another poke bowl sauce.
• Rice – short-grain rice is my first choice, but brown rice, quinoa or cauliflower rice can also be used.

Other poke bowl topping ideas

How to serve a poke bowl?

Poke bowls are best assembled just before serving, especially when using raw salmon. Keep the ingredients chilled until you’re ready to assemble the bowls.

Serve the sauce on the side or drizzle it over the bowl just before eating.

I also like serving poke bowls with Korean roasted seaweed. I wrap some rice, salmon and toppings in a piece of seaweed and eat it like ssam. I do the same with dishes like Jeyuk Bokkeum.

Storage

Poke bowls are best assembled just before serving.

If you’re preparing the ingredients ahead of time, store the salmon, rice, toppings and sauce separately in the refrigerator, then assemble the bowls when you’re ready to eat.

Keep raw salmon refrigerated until serving and follow the storage instructions provided by your fishmonger or on the packaging.

Emma’s tips

• Choose salmon intended for raw consumption. If you’re serving the salmon raw, buy it from a trusted supplier and check that it’s suitable for eating raw.
• Use short-grain rice. Korean or Japanese short-grain rice gives the bowl the texture I prefer.
• Adjust the spice. Add more or less sriracha depending on how spicy you want the salmon.
• Assemble just before serving. Keep the ingredients chilled separately, then put the bowl together when you’re ready to eat.
• Keep extra sauce on the side. Add as much as you want just before serving.

More salmon recipes

• Spicy Salmon Sushi Bake
• Salmon Fried Rice
• Teriyaki Salmon Bowl
• Salmon and Spinach Quiche