Cook With Us #6- Vegan Poke Bowl Salad
I am so excited for this weeks' challenge @cookwithus. I like to eat salads all the time but I find eating mixed greens is too one dimensional. I like to make salads with different components to add a contrast in flavors and textures. I start with a base of leafy greens, then I add a variety of raw and or cooked vegetables. To make it more substantial, I will add some carbs. By the time I am done creating my salad, it will turn into a meal as opposed to a side dish. For this challenge, I decided to make my version of a vegan poke bowl. Poke is a Hawaiian raw fish salad but in place of fish, I used beets.
I found some incredible candy striped beets at the farmer's market so I cubed them to mimic the raw fish. Then I pickled them in a brine flavored with bay leaf and allspice. You can substitute regular beets in place of the candy striped ones.
Pickled Beets
- 2 small beets, medium diced
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 3 Allspice berries
- 1 fresh or dried bay leaf
In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer the beets for approximately 8 minutes or until tender. Let the beets cool in the pickling liquid. You can make this in advance, store in the refrigerator.
On one of my trips to Bangkok, I discovered rice berry, a hybrid of two rices. It has a slight chew and is full of antioxidants. Rice berry requires more water to cook. It is the same ratio as cooking brown rice. For 1 cup of raw rice I will use 2 cups of water.
For the dressing I blended Gari, which is pickled ginger, soy sauce and some rice vinegar.
Gari Dressing
- 2 heaping tbsp pickled ginger
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1-2 tbsp soy sauce or to taste
- 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil
Place all the ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth.
To finish my poke bowl, I had some mushrooms at home, so I sautéed them with a little olive oil, garlic and salt. Now I am ready to compose my dish. I used a bag of spring mix for my greens, and to that I added tomatoes, avocado, shaved cabbage and a variety of radishes and colored carrots. The fun part of making poke bowls is you can add anything to create your version.
I like to thinly slice my radishes and soak them in ice water to make them crisp. A sprinkle of seaweed adds an umami punch to this salad. Thank you @cookwithus for another fun theme!
I would love to hear and find new ideas for my future salads.
I love poke and this vegan version fits the bill as well. Looks delicious!
You're now making me curious about rice berry. Hoping that's available in the U.S. as I would like to try it. I picked up some unusual kinds of rice lately so my rice-radar is pretty sharp of late =D.
That last photo is amazing ... looks like tuna! And that chunk of avocado is perfect to give that forkful of salad just the right amount of creaminess!
Thanks for another wonderful entry @loveself!
Thank you @offoodandart. I believe they sell it on Amazon. What types of rice have you tried? I tried a few different varieties but what I like about rice berry is it has a slight chew like glutinous rice but it's not as sticky and works well in many different applications.
Thanks for that info on Amazon!
I don’t remember the names of the types of rice I’ve recently tried but I have easy access to them because they’re in my neighborhood grocery. I do have one kind left so I checked the name. It’s called bamboo rice. I haven’t cooked it yet so am curious if it has some distinct flavor. It could be that this is just some medium/small grain rice that has been flavored. Here are some photos ...
I saw that at health food store. The color is absolutely stunning. You'll have to let me know if it stays that color after it is cooked and I wonder about the taste. I can't wait to see what you will be creating with it. Thank you @offoodandart.
I can't wait either, haha! It's been so busy but am hoping I'll have the time soon.
Thank you for your inventive salad entry @loveself and good luck!
Thank you @cookwithus. I had a great time with this theme.
Looks very delicious! I'm getting hungry :)
Thank you. Love the photo of the collection of fish heads.
Wow! That looks awesome. Great Salad!
Thank you @world-trael-pro. I love how you mixed the hot chicken and croutons with your salad for a contrast and the addition of bean sprouts...I will have to add that to my next salad. Thanks for the idea!
It was certainly a tasty salad! :)
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Yummy! 😋
Thank you! Your salad looked like a work of art and you even picked the flowers and leaves yourself. Amazing!
Thanks so much!
Once again you have given us an awesome recipe and an inspiring one at that @loveself - I love to make inventive salads and I enjoy lots of colour. The rice berry also looks amazing - must get my kids to bring some back from Thailand for me
Thank you @pandamama. The rice is hearty and works well in salads. I can't wait for you to try it.
Vegan poke using beets! Now that is inventive. Thanks for your very inspiring entry @loveself!
Thank you for organizing the competition! I look forward to reading all the entries each week.
https://www.youtube.com/paulbegley34