Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl
Inspired by the classic Hawaiian dish, this ahi tuna poke recipe is light and healthy, featuring fresh raw tuna marinated with soy, sesame and onion. You’ll love how quick and easy it is to make. Serve over rice with sliced cucumber for a meal, or serve it on rice crackers for a simple appetizer.
Why I love this poke bowl recipe
If you love raw fish as much as I do, you are going to love this ahi tuna poke recipe. It’s beyond simple to make, and the flavor is amazing.
Normally, I can’t get enough sushi, but since we aren’t going out as much lately, I’ve been adding frozen sushi grade tuna – don’t judge, we live in the Midwest! – to my grocery cart and whipping up a batch of this whenever I have a craving.
It makes a great lunch, especially paired with leftover coconut rice – maybe that’s weird, but I love it – and when I’m feeling crazy, I’ll even make a batch of my spicy sushi sauce to drizzle on top.
It also makes a great appetizer if you chop the tuna a bit smaller and serve it on rice crackers. We served it like that last Christmas Eve and it was so good.
Here’s what you’ll need to make it
How to make a poke bowl
Make the poke sauce. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the soy sauce, sesame oil and vinegar. Next, stir in the red pepper flakes, green onions and sesame seeds.
Marinate the tuna. Use a sharp knife to cube the tuna – I usually aim for 1/2-inch pieces, but you do what you like. Transfer the mixing bowl and stir to coat the tuna in the sauce.
Cover and allow the poke to marinate for at least 30 minutes, in the refrigerator.
FAQS and tips for making the best ahi tuna poke
Poke sauce is traditionally made with soy sauce, sesame oil and green onion. I’ve added a hint of vinegar and crushed red pepper flakes for extra flavor. I also like to mix my sesame seeds right into the marinade, but they can been added as a garnish instead.
Since you will be eating this fish raw, it’s best to buy sushi grade tuna when making poke. That means totally fresh fish, or fish that is frozen right after it’s caught.
It’s best to consume refrigerated, or thawed, ahi tuna within 1 – 2 days. Same goes for these poke bowl. They will be ok the next day, but after that I recommend tossing any leftovers.
This recipe would be great with:
- Easy coconut rice recipe
- Spicy sushi sauce
- Sweet and spicy cucumber salad
- Spicy sriracha broccoli slaw
More takeout recipes you’ll love:
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
- 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 pound ahi tuna (cubed)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir to coat the tuna with the sauce ingredients.
- Cover and let marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Serve over rice and top with extra green onions and sesame seeds.
It was so easy and perfect for a Friday night dinner.
Where do you buy for your frozen Tuna?
Just at our local grocery store!
Just make sure it is listed as “sushi-grade.”
Super1 Grocery Store. I live in Louisiana. Individually vacuumed sealed about 3 oz portions.
I get mine at Aldi and love it. Very affordable
I use fresh flash frozen fish from purefish.com
I made these for a private catering I had and they said it’s the best poke they’ve ever had! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
This was so good and so easy! I will never buy it takeout again!
your website is so overrun with ads that it is virtually useless. probably a good recipe but getting to it is like walking through times square. awful.
Hi John Doe! I’m so glad you made it to the bottom of the page to leave this rude comment. These ads support my family and pay my bills. They also offset the cost of my creating FREE recipes for people like you. There is a convenient jump to recipe button at the top if you want to skip the ads and if you don’t want to look at ads (like you would on literally every other page of the internet), you can buy yourself a cookbook!
Yes!!!!!
Always a whiner in every crowd! Probably an o ky child like my husband!lol
What is the serving size? Does the x1 version of recipe serve 4 or 6?
This looks great!
It should serve 4.
Your recipe looks delicious. Thank you for sharing. I’m going to try it out today. Can you use frozen tuna thawed out? I can’t get fresh tuna where I live but I love poke bowls.
Yes. You definitely can. That’s normally what we have to use because that’s all we can find around here, too.
Just be sure and ask “WHEN WAS IT UNFROZEN AT STORE/Seafood Market? And even ask to smell BEFORE you buy. If it smells “very fishy”, buy it frozen, defrosts quickly.
Thanks for the recipe. Have made this a couple of times for my family and it’s a big hit! With a small number of ingredients it’s quick and easy to make, but still very delicious.
This recipe was simple and delicious! My whole family loved the tuna! Since I made it at home I made the mistake of putting it over cooked rice. Didn’t think to cool the rice, so just a suggestion to anyone serving it with rice!
Trying it tonight however I’m substituting sushi grade salmon in lieu of the tuna. I love both tuna and salmon. Will try with sushi grade ahi tuna next time. Curious, have you ever also added any fresh ginger? I may serve with both sliced avocados and pickled ginger on the side. Thanks for the recipe!
This is a terrific recipe! I’m a pescatarian. So, since my family was having beef, I made your recipe for myself. I thawed one vacuum packed tuna fillet and followed your recipe. It was delicious!!!! I’m saving this recipe. Next time, I may try your coconut rice. Thanks so much, for a great recipe!!! Yummmmmm!
Can you let the tuna marinate in the sauce for 24 hours before eating? Or is that a bad idea?
I wouldn’t marinate it that long. Maybe a few hours at the most.
Thanks for the recipe Melissa
I was given a lbs. of yellowfin didn’t know what to make and i found your recipe and I loved it so much I’m going to make it for my girlfriend when she comes over tomorrow. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Love it! I’m waiting for my family to get home…. I tasted the final yummy goodness and oh my, they better hurry or there won’t be any left! (Nit really, I will feed them!!)
Love this simple marinade and have made it several times. Have tried others, but this is perfect. When available, in addition to thinly sliced cucumbers, have added chunks of mango, edamame, shaved carrots, pickled ginger. A complete meal. Thank you!
Delicious poke recipe. As much as I love ‘salt’ this was too salty even tho I used Low Sodium. I solved by adding more Rice Vinegar & Sesame Oil; next time I’ll use less soy sauce. I added minced jalapeño, & served all on a bed of arugula, added pickled seaweed & edamame. YUM!
Does this “cook” the tuna when marinating? I have a large ahi tuna piece from Costco that I bought 2 days ago and I want to use it up.
It definitely doesn’t cook the fish. I think what you’re referring to is ceviche, which “cooks” the fish with acid, but this doesn’t have enough acid to do that and it still wouldn’t technically cook the tuna. I would probably only use super fresh tuna for this recipe.