Tuna Poke Bowl with Wakame & Quinoa Salad

Easily the best recipe you will find for tuna tartare nestled alongside Wakame salad, quinoa speckled with edamame, avocado and scallions, all drizzled in a gorgeous sesame-ginger vinaigrette. 

Tuna Poke Bowls with Wakame, Edamame and Quinoa

This is easily the best recipe you will find for tuna tartare! It’s then nestled alongside Wakame salad and quinoa speckled with edamame, avocado and scallions. All of that gets drizzled in a gorgeous sesame-ginger vinaigrette. Perfection.

Why is it the best tuna tartare?

There are a lot of tuna poke bowls out there. While I am late in the game at sharing recipes this little gem has been on the menu for more than half of my career as a chef. I’m quite pleased to say that my tuna tartare has been enjoyed by celebrity athletes, super models and Grammy award winning musicians but most importantly…… by my two little girls. They have loved this tuna since they could shovel food in their own mouths with their hands. 

My girls love sushi and raw fish in general. When I tell them we are having salmon for dinner their immediate question is “cooked or raw?” When I say “cooked,” I’m met with slumped shoulders and sighs of disappointment.

When I was growing up my mother would have NEVER contemplated serving her children raw fish. I dare say that if we were caught in a black out with only raw fish and cat food in the house my mom would have exclaimed, “Well if it’s good enough for Mr. Eliot, it’s good enough for you kids!” Then she would have scooped the tin of cat food into our bowls and given Mr. Eliot the raw salmon. 

Oh how times have changed! 

Tuna Poke bowls are one dish that my young girls and I both adore. I love this recipe for it’s ease, low calorie count and health benefits. My girls love it for one reason – it’s just amazingly delicious. So here’s how to make it………….

First start with a great tartare..

To make an awesome tuna poke bowl you need to first start with a great tartare. This recipe is simple and perfectly seasoned with a ginger-sesame vinaigrette that allows the flavor and quality of the fish stand out. The extra sauce then dresses a healthy quinoa salad full of green goodness – avocado, cilantro, cucumber, edamame and scallions. Add to the bowl a little bit of wakame salad and VOIlA – heaven in a bowl! 

A few notes on preparing the tartare…

Without question the tuna needs to be of the highest quality and fresh. This could mean that the tuna is frozen. That’s ok. Lots of sushi-grade tuna is frozen and vacuum packed. Make sure that the vacuum package has not lost its seal otherwise you end up with freezer burnt tuna which is not good!

If the tuna is not frozen fresh then it needs to be fresh, fresh – beautiful in color, have NO smell and feel nice to touch – firm and without any slimy film that you can feel. Buying from a trusted, reputable fish market is key but do your own inspection as well.

Then, when you get the tuna home, put it in the freezer! You don’t need to freeze it but if you place it in the freezer for 20 minutes it will be easier to cut into nice, uniform, diced pieces for your tartare. Now it is ready for tossing with the aromatics and dressing that enhance it’s fresh flavor.

The poke bowl…

The tuna poke bowl here is made up of a delicious quinoa salad and wakame. I buy my wakame salad in the freezer section of my local asian market but you can also make this recipe without. Add some of your favorite crunchy vegetables instead – snap peas, radish, zucchini noodles, or just load up on more avocado, cucumber and edamame.

Have fun with the recipe and trust me, you won’t be disappointed!

Tuna Poke Bowl with Quinoa and Wakame Salad

The tastiest tuna tartare made in to a healthy tuna poke bowl. This makes more vinaigrette than you need but pass the rest on the side and use left overs drizzled over grilled fish, vegetables or other salads. If you can’t find wakame salad use other veggies as described above.

• Author: Jessica Verity
• Prep Time: 30 min
• Cook Time: 15 min
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
• Category: Salad
• Cuisine: Asian

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450g) sushi grade tuna 
• 2 scallions (spring onions), thinly sliced
• 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 –2 teaspoons chopped fresh chilli (optional)
• For the quinoa salad:
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 cup shelled edamame
• 1/2 cup diced cucumber
• 1 large avocado, diced
• 1 scallion (spring onion), thinly sliced 
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (coriander)
• For the vinaigrette:
• 2 in/5 cm piece of ginger, peeled and minced or grated
• 3/4 cup soy sauce or tamari (gluten free soy sauce)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• juice of 2 limes
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 1 1/3 cups Wakame Salad
• Optional:
• Pickled Ginger
• Wasabi (paste or cream)

 

 

 

Instructions

1. Place the tuna in the freezer for 20 minutes while you prepare the rest of the dish.
2. Cook the quinoa in a pot or rice cooker by placing it in the pot with a scant 2 cups of water and a dash of salt. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a very gentle simmer. Put the lid on, cook over low heat until all of the water has been absorbed. Remove the lid and fluff with a fork. (If using a rice cooker just combine everything in the pot and turn on the cook function.) Allow the quinoa to cool a bit before making the salad.
3. Combine the cooked quinoa with the edamame, cucumber, avocado, scallion and cilantro.
4. Remove the tuna from the freezer and cut it in to small dice using a sharp knife. Combine the tuna with the scallions and sesame seeds in a medium bowl and place in the refrigerator.
5. Prepare the vinaigrette by combining the ginger, soy sauce, honey, lime juice and sesame oil in a small bowl.
6. Toss the quinoa salad with 1/2 cup of vinaigrette. Wait for 5-10 minutes for flavours to develop and add more vinaigrette if desired. 
7. 5-10 minutes before you are ready to serve toss the tuna with enough vinaigrette just to coat the mixture. Wait for the flavors to develop and add more vinaigrette if desired.
8. In each of 4 bowls add 1 cup of the quinoa salad, 1/3 cup of wakame salad and a quarter of the tuna tartare
9. Serve with optional pickled ginger and wasabi. Pass the extra vinaigrette on the side and save what is not used for another meal. Bon app!

Keywords: tuna poke bowl, tuna tartare