Ahi Poke Bowl with Kohlrabi "Rice"

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We’ve been in a heat wave this week and the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven, stove or grill. On these hot days, a shrewd dinner choice is a poke (it's POH-keh, by the way) bowl. Poke bowls are basically deconstructed sushi and restaurants sporting the dish seem to be popping up everywhere, which makes sense as they are incredibly healthy. However, you can easily make poke at home and the process lends itself well to a “make your own bowl” party, where everyone can assemble their own bowls as desired.

I switched out regular rice for the root vegetable kohlrabi (see photo at bottom) to keep the dish low carb (jicama and daikon radish also work beautifully) and make it a no-cook meal. However, if we're having guests, rice will make an appearance as well. Japanese short-grain sushi rice is traditionally the base of the poke bowl, but it can be made with white or brown. I have also used wild green salad mix as the base–one of my favorites is store bought seaweed salad.

​This versatile dish begs to be customized. I have listed the ingredients I love below, but feel free to make it your own with ingredients you enjoy and have a "cool" party!

Number of servings: 4​

Ingredients
Poke

• 2 pounds fresh sushi-grade ahi tuna, diced into ¼ inch cubes
• 1 English cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 cup purple cabbage, finely shredded
• 2 avocados, peeled, sliced or diced
• 1 cup pineapple, cubed
• 2 mangoes, cubed
• 1 cup carrot, shredded
• 1-2 red Fresno chiles, thinly sliced
• Optional "mix-ins": edamame, seaweed salad, pickled ginger, nori, microgreens, wonton crisps, rice crackers, tortilla chips, black & white toasted sesame seeds, wasabi, Sriracha sauce

Kohlrabi “Rice” or Regular Rice

• 1-2 large kohlrabi, peeled and cut into chunks (Jicama or daikon radish also work well)
• Short grain Japanese sushi rice, or regular white or brown rice 

Poke Dressing

• 4 tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons, toasted sesame oil
• ¼ heaping cup scallions (approximately 4 scallions, white and green part), finely chopped
• 1 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely grated or minced
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons lime juice

Directions

1. Trim any dark flesh and fat from the tuna and discard. Dice into ¼ inch cubes and place in large bowl. Refrigerate.
2. Place kohlrabi (or jicama/daikon radish) into a food processor and pulse until it looks like rice kernels. DO NOT pulse too much or it will turn into mush.
3. Mix all the poke dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour over ahi tuna and gently toss. NOTE: once you have mixed the dressing with the tuna, serve immediately or the acids from the dressing will cook the fish.
4. Add rice to each bowl and assemble with your desired toppings. 
5. Some people (me!) like a little kick in the sauce, so I have wasabi paste or Sriracha on the side to add to my personal poke bowl.

The root vegetable kohlrabi, which you can find in any good produce section.