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Red’s Favorite Spicy Tuna Poke Bowls. Homemade tuna poke with spicy gingery tuna, steamed rice, all the best toppings, and our favorite spicy, sweet, and creamy mayo sauce. I top each bowl off with fried shallot crumbs for crunch, then add fresh avocado, and a generous side of the creamy mayo. Each bowl is colorful and full of so much flavor. A great family dinner, any night of the week.
After months of requests, I am finally sharing the poke bowls I’ve been making for my younger brother, Red. Everyone has been asking for this recipe, but I hesitated for so long.
Not because this isn’t a good recipe, but more because I make the poke a little differently each time and have never written down the recipe. Poke is one of those dinners you can make with just a few ingredients or with a lot of ingredients. None of the measurements have to be exact. And each person can customize their bowls to their liking, which makes it great if you’re feeding a more picky crowd.
Anyway, I’ve never written down the poke bowl recipe I put together for Red, so I’ve never shared it, but the time has finally come. I wrote some things down, figured out our favorite poke combinations, and here we are!
Poke bowls for Monday night dinner…just in time for Red, who’s finally coming home to CO tonight after being in China.
The Poke
Since poke is really all about the tuna, make sure you’re using fresh sushi-grade tuna. I always buy mine at Whole Foods, but I will say, they don’t always have it. It’s a little hit or miss, but when they do, I snatch it up for poke.
Cube the tuna, and for the marinade, I like to keep mine simple: tamari (soy sauce), sesame chili oil, ginger, and then green onions and toasted sesame seeds. I’ve found this to be the combo everyone loves most. If you don’t like spicy food, just use sesame oil.
Most poke bowls have a spicy mayo on top. It’s usually just mayo and sriracha mixed together. This is great and super simple, but I like to add tamari and a small amount of honey to balance the spiciness.
The added salt and sweetness make the sauce just a little more special. It’s creamy and honestly so delicious. And we’re not really a mayo-loving family either.
Everything else
The only other “must-have” is rice. You have to have rice to serve the poke over, then the rest is all extra.
My bowls almost always include a quick cucumber salad and avocado.
I made these bowls extra special with some fried shallots mixed with Panko breadcrumbs and sesame seeds. It’s definitely extra, but so delicious.
Everyone in my family has agreed (well except my mom, she will not eat fish), they could easily eat this once a week. It’s on rotation when Red and Hailey are home.
Looking for other seafood?
Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos with Fried Avocado
Coconut Curry Salmon with Garlic Butter
Honey Garlic Salmon Soba Noodle Bowls
Lastly, if you make Red’s Favorite Spicy Tuna Poke Bowl, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Red’s Favorite Spicy Tuna Poke Bowl
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 843 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Poke
- 2 (4 ounce) sushi grade tuna steaks, cubed
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon sesame chili oil or regular sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
- 1 to 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 cup Persian cucumbers, sliced
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 3-4 cups sushi rice, cooked
- avocado, pickled ginger, and nori sheets – for serving
- fried shallot crumbs (recipe in notes)
Spicy Mayo
- 1/3 cup olive oil mayo
- 1 to 2 tablespoons sriracha
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari
- 1 teaspoon honey
Instructions
- 1. To make the poke. In a medium bowl, combine the tuna, soy sauce (or tamari), sesame chili oil, ginger, red pepper flakes, green onion, and sesame seeds. Toss to mix.2. To make the cucumber salad. Toss together the cucumbers, rice vinegar, honey, and a pinch each of chili flakes and salt. 3. To make the Spicy Mayo. In a small bowl, stir together the mayo, sriracha, honey, and soy sauce (or tamari). 4. To assemble, add the rice to bowls, top with avocado, cucumber salad, poke, pickled ginger, green onions, and nori. Spoon over the spicy mayo. Sprinkle on the crumbs. Serve with additional spicy mayo.
Notes
Fried Shallot Crumbs: In a skillet combine 2 tablespoons sesame oil and 2 thinly sliced shallots over medium heat. Cook until golden, 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add 1/3 cup Panko and 2 tablespoons sesame seeds. Season with salt.Â
Delicious!!! My husband and my 17 year old boys loved this tonight!! Soooo good!!!
Hey Sheila,
Happy Sunday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xxT
This was amazing! I’ve always wanted to try making sushi at home and this recipe was just what I needed. And the fried shallots- delicious!
Hey Kim,
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Have the best weekend:) xT
incredible! bowls make pleasing a family of five simple and that shallot panko is to die for. yum!
Hey there,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a go, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Delicious! I ended up using store-bought onion crispies instead of the shallot crumbs and the furikake seasoning from Trader Joe’s as toppings. Thank you, Tieghan!
Hey Lily,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a go, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Made this for my poke loving husband yesterday and we both declared it best poke we have had outside of Hawaii! Oh my goodness it was so good! Going into my weekly rotation! Only change I made was using brown rice. Was SO GOOD! Thanks for another great recipe! Red is one lucky kid!
Hey Stacey,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a go, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
I truly adore Poke Bowls. I just pinned this to my board because I think will be very often made by myself hahah
Miki x
https://www.littletasteofbeauty.com/
I hope you love the recipe!
Hi Tieghan!
This looks great, however, I am not a huge mayo fan and I know you mentioned you aren’t either. Can you provide another quick and easy sauce to use instead? I know you mentioned you make this all the time and change it up so I figured you might have another one up your sleeve! 🙂
Thanks!!!
Hi Christina,
So in place of regular mayo, I like to use olive oil or avocado mayo. Primal Kitchen has a few great options that I love! I hope this helps! xTieghan
I like to substitute plain Greek yogurt in sauces like this. It adds the creaminess that you get from mayo, but it’s a little more tangy, way less oily, and has the added benefit of probiotics! I would try Tieghan’s sauce as is, but with yogurt instead of mayo, and a little squeeze of lime juice 🙂
Wow! I’ve made poke a lot and this recipe is really fabulous. Will use this recipe in the future, for sure.
Hi Ruth,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it!! Have the best day:) xx
This was fantastic! Best Poke bowl I’ve had anywhere else, and it’s a favorite dish. The combo of textures, the perfect amount of heat, and the SHALLOTS. <3 Absolutely deliscious, Tieghan…even on a coooooold winter night. It took us to a more tropical place. YUM!
Hey Sandra,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it!! Have the best day:) xx
Just made this last night. It was a HUGE hit with my husband and kids! I didn’t have tuna so I made it with salmon for my husband and myself. I used steak and chicken for my kids but can’t wait to do it with tuna next time. I tossed the proteins with the soy marinade briefly before I cooked them. I couldn’t find olive oil mayo at Whole Foods so I used avocado oil mayo and it came out well. Definitely another keeper!!! Thanks Tieghan!
P.S. Your Aunt Alyssa is a friend of mine.
Hey Katie,
Wonderful!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xT
Delicious!!! Even my non sushi eating husband loved it!
Hi Gale,
Wonderful!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xT
How far in advance can you marinate the tuna? I want to prepare this earlier in the day and then serve it for dinner. Excited to try this recipe! Thanks!!
Hi Megghan,
You can marinate a few hours in advance:) I hope you love the recipe, let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Fabulous! Made this last night and we loved all the flavors and wouldn’t go without the Fried Shallot Crumbs – delicious! The only change I made was because our tuna steak had been frozen, so after defrosting I seared it quickly, cooled and then cut into cubes. That worked perfectly. We love spicy so I added a bit of cayenne to the Shallot Crumbs. Will most definitely make again, and even though the servings were a little bigger than expected, all was eaten. Thanks so much for your recipe, and many thanks to Red as well!
Hey Molly,
Fantastic!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xTieghan
Can this be done with shrimp? Tips?
Hi Megan,
Sure, just cook the shrimp to your liking:) I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
How do you make the sushi rice?
Hi there,
I just followed the package instructions:) Let me know if you give the recipe a try! xTieghan