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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
This is my 4th time making this recipe, it’s incredible!
Hi Anne,
Perfect! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was a hit! xxT
This bowl was incredible. Love it when the food craving nail is hit right on the head. I bought the tuna as sashimi from the local sushi place. Did add a soft boiled egg because… luxurious…
Hi Kendra,
Happy Labor Day! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! So glad it was enjoyed:)
Incredibly good. Made your tuna recipe and also tuna tataki with local tuna. Everybody (family of six) love it. My youngest kid said he will tell me when the facebook from the local fishmonger advertises local tuna again.
The cucumber salad and the fried shallot crumbs were nice discoveries and really added taste to the dish. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Hey Marc,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for trying it out:)
It was very tasty, all I changed was to add corn and seared tuna (not a fan of raw fish). My friends asked for the recipe after the first bite
Hey there,
Happy Friday! Thanks a ton for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was a hit! ?Tieghan
Could I make this with salmon instead of tuna?
Hey Anna,
Sure, just be sure it is sushi grade salmon. I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, I hope you love it! xTieghan
My husband caught a bluefin tuna this weekend, and this turned it into a great dish! I added seaweed salad from the local seafood store and mango. Soooo delicious! You keep
Making me look like a pro with your recipes ?
Hi Dana,
Wonderful! Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Have not yet made, but love these bowls and recipe looks great! Thinking of subbing chicken breast for the tuna, though. Looking for recommendations – combine raw chicken with sauce, oil, etc. first and then cook, or cook chicken through and then toss with sauce, oil, etc.? TIA!
Excited to try!!
Hey Jensen,
Thanks so much! You could toss the chicken in the sauce and then sauté on the stove top. I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
We did a lazy version of this for dinner tonight, but it was still excellent!
I had tofu on hand instead of tuna steaks, didn’t have any shallots, and didn’t really measure, but it was still so delicious!
I added red cabbage and radishes as well since we needed to use them up and wanted more veggies.
So good, and will definitely be a go to to help curb the sushi cravings with way less money/effort.
Hey Carrie,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you:) xTieghan
Absolutely superb! Made this tonight and it was excellent.
My grocer had 5 oz flash frozen tuna steaks on special. FDA assured me that flash frozen tuna is 100% safe to eat raw, but I had never tried. Spicy tuna seemed like the ideal way to test it out.
I was inspired by your recipe and it was phenomenal! I doubled up on the Sriracha mayo, it was so tasty I plan to have that on hand. The toasted shallot panko is also fantastic.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe. It was a huge hit and will likely become a regular meal in our house.
Hey Gina,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was tasty!?
I wanted to make this but gave up as I have to readjust my screen every 20 seconds because some tiktok thing keeps scrolling the recipe down. It looks like a good recipe, though. Maybe I can screenshot it.
Hi Eric,
So sorry to hear you are having issues, I am not seeing a “Tik Tok thing” on the page, I would try closing your browser and reopening. xTieghan
I get annoyed at all the ads also- try clicking the print recipe tab and it won’t have any of the ads flashing all the time. You don’t have to actually print it- it just formats it without all the ads.
Hi Tieghan, can I ask how warm the rice should be when you serve this? I have made different poke bowls but with salmon and the warm rice kind of cooked the salmon by the time I had served everyone? Thanks so much, Jenni
Hey Jenni,
I would say the rice is typically room temp when I serve this! Let me know if you have any other questions:) xTieghan
This has become a weekly staple. My grocer has ready made poke that I flavor up. The crispy fried shallots put it over the top. Sometimes I use bang bang sauce from the shrimp taco recipe. Yum! Thanks!
Hi Carol,
Awesome!! So glad your family has been enjoying this recipe, thanks for making it so often:) xx
Should the shallot/panko be cold or warm when you serve it?
Hi Heather,
I usually serve it at room temp. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Made this for dinner last night and it was absolutely delicious! Will definitely be on repeat!
Hi Mary Jane,
Fantastic!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! ?Tieghan
I could eat this every week and not get tired of it. It’s perfection in a bowl.
Hey Stacey,
Perfect!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit and appreciate you giving it a try! xxTieghan
I’ve made this over and over. Red is right. This is the best dinner ever! We love it so much! Can’t stop making it!
Hey Carol,
LOL so glad you have been enjoying the recipe, I will have to let Red know:) Thanks for making it so often! xTieghan
This recipe was so delicious! I followed it, except I forgot to buy shallots. I will have to do those next time. Definitely will be making this again. I had some leftover for lunch the next day. Yum!
Hi Christina,
I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review! xTieghan