Sushi-Grade Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl at Home

Name: Sushi-Grade Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl at Home
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 16oz pack Wild Ahi Tuna Sushi Poke Cubes, AAA grade; 1 cup Short-grain sushi rice, uncooked; 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp Rice vinegar, sugar and salt, for seasoning the rice; 2 tbsp Shoyu (Japanese soy sauce); 2 tsp Toasted sesame oil; 1/2 cup Sweet onion (Maui or Vidalia), sliced paper thin; 2 + 1 tbsp Scallions, sliced, plus toasted sesame seeds; 1 + 1/2 Avocado and cucumber, for the bowl

Nutrition

Nutrition FactsPer serving, 1 bowl (8oz ahi plus rice and toppings), 2 servings per recipe

840

Calories

64g

Protein

128% DV

18g

Fat

23% DV

99g

Carbs

36% DV

Fats	% DV*
Total Fat 18g	23%
Saturated 3g	15%
Trans 0g
Polyunsaturated 4g
Monounsaturated 9g
Cholesterol 89mg	30%
Sodium 1,560mg	68%

Carbs, Protein & Micronutrients	% DV*
Total Carbohydrate 99g	36%
Dietary Fiber 6g	21%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 64g	128%
Vitamin B12 4.7mcg	195%
Selenium 206mcg	375%
Potassium 1,650mg	35%

* The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. Values are estimates and will vary with portion size and preparation.

Ingredients

Makes2 Servings

16oz pack Wild Ahi Tuna Sushi Poke Cubes, AAA gradeFeatured
1 cup Short-grain sushi rice, uncooked
2 tbsp + 1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp Rice vinegar, sugar and salt, for seasoning the rice
2 tbsp Shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)
2 tsp Toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup Sweet onion (Maui or Vidalia), sliced paper thin
2 + 1 tbsp Scallions, sliced, plus toasted sesame seeds
1 + 1/2 Avocado and cucumber, for the bowl

Preparation

Rinse 1 cup of sushi rice until the water runs mostly clear, then cook it.
Stir together the rice seasoning: 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Slice the sweet onion paper thin and the scallions on a bias.
Halve, pit and slice the avocado; cut the cucumber into thin half moons.
Put a metal or glass mixing bowl in the fridge for the fish.
Leave the tuna sealed in the fridge until the rice is at room temperature.

How to Cook

Cook and season the rice
Put the rinsed rice and 1 1/4 cups of water in a small pot. Bring it to a boil, cover, drop to the lowest heat and cook 13 minutes. Off the heat, rest covered 10 minutes. Turn it out into a wide bowl, pour the vinegar seasoning over and fold with a cutting motion so the grains stay whole. Hot rice absorbs seasoning; cold rice just gets wet. Spread it out to cool to room temperature, because warm rice under raw fish warms the fish. The grains should look glossy and separate, not sticky in a lump.
Mix the sauce and onion
In a small bowl, stir 2 tablespoons of shoyu with 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil. That three to one ratio is the whole recipe. More oil goes greasy; more shoyu goes salty and flat. Add the sliced sweet onion and half the scallions and let them sit 5 minutes so the salt softens the onion's bite. Traditional poke used sea salt, limu and inamona instead; if you can find limu, add a tablespoon. Taste it: savory, nutty, faintly sweet, never sharp. Short on time: Big Aloha poke sauce does this in one pour.
Dress the fish
No more than 15 minutes before you eat. Open the pack and pat the cubes dry with paper towel so the sauce clings instead of sliding off. Put them in the chilled bowl, pour the sauce and onion over, and fold gently with a spoon, three or four turns. Back into the fridge until you plate. The cubes should stay glossy, translucent red and springy; once they turn opaque and matte at the edges, the sauce has been on too long. Nothing is cooked, so there is no internal temperature to reach. Cold and time are your only two controls: keep the fish at or below 40F until it hits the bowl.
Build the bowl
Divide the cooled rice between two wide bowls. Lay the cucumber on one side and fan the avocado on the other. Spoon the tuna and onion into the center, then pour whatever sauce is left in the bowl over the rice, not the fish, so the tuna is not sitting in liquid. Finish with the toasted sesame seeds and the remaining scallion. Eat right away. Poke does not wait; the bowl is at its best in the first ten minutes, while the fish is cold and the onion still has some crunch.

How to Serve

Poke wants contrast. Cold fish, room-temperature rice, something crunchy, something creamy, something sharp. Go easy on the extras. If you cannot taste the tuna under the toppings, you bought good fish for nothing. Build the bowl so the fish is the center and everything else frames it.

Season the rice, not the fish, if the bowl needs more salt. The shoyu has already done that job on the tuna.
A squeeze of lime or a few drops of yuzu over the finished bowl lifts the sesame oil without changing the poke itself.
For heat, a little sambal, a pinch of shichimi togarashi or a sliced Hawaiian chili pepper. Spicy mayo is a mainland move and fine if you like it, but taste the plain poke first.

What to serve it with. Keep the plate simple and lean cold:

Blanched edamame tossed with flaky salt
Quick pickled cucumber (rice vinegar, a pinch of sugar and salt, 10 minutes)
Seaweed salad, or a sheet of toasted nori torn over the top
A cold lager, a dry Riesling or iced green tea

FAQ

What does sushi grade actually mean?

Legally, in the United States, nothing. No agency defines or certifies the term. What matters is what the seller did: how fresh the fish is, how cold it stayed in transit, and, for species that can carry parasites, whether it was frozen to the FDA standard of -4F for 7 days or -31F until solid and held 15 hours. Yellowfin is exempt from that rule under the FDA Food Code, so with ahi the question is handling and freshness. Ask any seller how the fish traveled and how cold it was kept. We cover the terms in sashimi vs. sushi.

Who should not eat raw fish?

The FDA lists pregnant women, young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems, including transplant patients and people with HIV, cancer or diabetes, as higher risk from raw or undercooked seafood. If that describes you or a guest, sear the dressed cubes in a hot pan for about 60 to 90 seconds per side until the center reads 145F and the flesh is opaque throughout, then build the same bowl. Raw fish is never zero risk, even from us. Cook it if you are unsure.

Can I use frozen tuna or the saku block instead of the cubes?

Yes. The saku block is the better buy per ounce if you are willing to cut, and it slices into sashimi as well. Frozen-at-sea tuna is fine too and is often the more conservative choice. Thaw it overnight in the fridge on a plate, never on the counter or in warm water, and pat it dry before cutting. Cut across the grain into 3/4 inch cubes as described in the preparation section. Our thawing guide covers the timing.

How far ahead can I make poke?

Rice: up to a day ahead, covered in the fridge and brought back to room temperature. Sauce and onion: a few hours. Fish: dressed no more than 15 minutes before serving, no exceptions. For a party, keep the tuna sealed and cold and dress it in batches as people eat. Poke that has sat in sauce for an hour is still safe if it stayed cold; it just tastes and feels like a lesser fish than the one you paid for.