OK, letâs get down to poke. If you werenât sure — we made this line intentionally rhyme — as an easy reminder that poke is pronounced âpoh-kay.â This fish and rice based dish hails from Hawaii, but has done a swimmingly good job of taking over the mainland. Simply put, if youâre a sushi fan — youâre going to want to try this. (No judgement on you late-to-the-poke-party people).
If personally crafting your own poke bowl sounds daunting, donât worry, many restaurants have signature bowls. But, for those adventurous orderers…remember this acronym when it comes to crafting a poke bowl: BPTS. This stands for: base, protein, toppings, sauce. Now, letâs get down to the specificsâŠ
Base
Most commonly, youâll see rice at the bottom of the bowl. Whether itâs jasmine, coconut, brown or traditional white sushi rice, this is pretty standard. If youâre living a carb-free lifestyle, some restaurants offer alternative bases like lettuce or zucchini noodles.
Protein
Toppings
Hereâs where you can go wild. Weâve chosen a handful of popular toppings and broken them down below.
- Pickled….cucumbers, radishes, onions.
- Crunchy…onion crisps, sesame seeds, wontons.
- Spicy…togarashi (chili pepper seasoning), jalapeños.
- Salty…masago/tobiko (fish roe), seaweed salad, furikake (seasoning with seaweed, sesame and more).
- Healthy…avocado, edamame.
- Fruity…mango, pineapple.
Sauces
Common dressings youâll see on menus are: sweet shoyu (soy-based, light), ponzu (soy-based, more citrusy; also âchili ponzuâ), and aioli (garlic, wasabi, sriracha).
Now that youâre well-versed on everything that goes into a poke bowlâŠwe have a few tips:
- Try out a poke spotâs signature bowl first…take note of what you like and dislike. Next time, youâll be better suited to build your dream bowl.
- There are a lot of different toppings, which is great…cause, variety. Go for a mix of toppings with a range of textures — itâll make for a more well-rounded bowl.
- Sauces can sometimes be overpowering if youâre not used to the flavor. Add a request for sauce on the side in your special instructions. That way you can control how much — or how little — sauce your poke gets.