This Watermelon Poke Bowl is packed with plant-based flavor! You won’t miss the fish once you taste the delicious marinated watermelon!
Let’s address the elephant in the room. Yes, watermelon poke is not an original concept, and I didn’t come up with it, and it’s been done 4,295 times before. But I had to put the Well and Full spin on it, ya know? ;)
I recently went on my annual trip to Chatham, MA (aka Cape Cod) with my family a few weeks ago. This year was really special because my fiancé came along! Obviously on the Cape, there’s an abundance of fresh seafood at every restaurant. But even before I was vegetarian, fish never really held a huge interest for me. I’ve had fish in sushi before, but I found that sweet potato tempura sushi was more my style!
Being on the Cape, though, made me think about the application of fish in American cuisine and how it can be made vegetarian/vegan. And then I thought back to a trip I took to Boston with my fiancé a few years back, where he had ordered a tuna poke bowl. (FYI – a real poke bowl is of Hawaiian origin, and usually consists of marinated tuna with vegetables and rice.) I didn’t eat the tuna, but I tried a little bit of the rice and scallions in the marinade. And let me tell you, THAT MARINADE. It was SO good. And after my trip to the Cape, I immediately thought of that poke marinade and knew I wanted to recreate it in my own kitchen!
I’ve never had watermelon poke before (or I guess regular poke, for that matter), but I know for a fact that this version is pretty darn tasty. It’s also super fresh and light for summer, which I love. If you make it without rice, you won’t have to turn on the stove at all. Win!!
Watermelon Poke Bowl
Ingredients
Watermelon Poke
- 2 1/2 Cups Watermelon diced
Marinade
- Juice from 1/2 Lemon
- 1 Inch Cube of Ginger grated or minced
- 2 Tbs Toasted Sesame Oil
- 1/4 Cup Tamari or Soy Sauce
- 1/2 Tbs Sesame Seeds
- 2 Tbs Scallions chopped
The Rest of the Bowl
- White or brown rice
- Grated Carrots
- Sprouts
- Sesame Seeds
- Chopped Scallions
- Any other toppings you like!
Instructions
- To begin, dice the watermelon into approx. 1/4 – 1/2" chunks (see photos for reference).
- In a large bowl, mix together the marinade ingredients.
- Submerge the watermelon into the marinade and mix around until all the watermelon is evenly coated. Marinate for 30 minutes so that the watermelon can absorb the flavor.
- Once watermelon is done marinating, assemble the bowls (but don't throw away the marinade!). Add watermelon poke on top of brown rice, and serve with whatever toppings you like.
- Drizzle the entire bowl with a few spoonfuls of the remaining marinade liquid (or even just plain soy sauce). Add a drizzle of sriracha if you'd like to kick things up a notch.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Please use TOASTED sesame oil for this recipe, not regular untoasted sesame oil. This is a huge component of the flavor profile, so definitely do not skimp on it!
P.S.
If you make this watermelon poke bowl and post it on Instagram, be sure to tag me @wellandfull and #wellandfull so I can see! I love seeing your takes on my recipes :)
Leave a Reply