VEGAN TUNA POKE
Umm okay, let me just start out by saying that when we first made this, I was pretty shocked. I never thought of transforming watermelon into tuna, let alone using it in a savory dish.. But here we are. It’s 2019 and we’re eating watermelon poke y’all! What an exciting time it is!
In 2013 when I first became vegan, I learned all about the alternatives that I could use when it came to making seafood. King oyster mushrooms are great for scallops or calamari, there’s shrimp made from yams, and numerous soy fish products out there to fulfill your seafood needs. The cooked seafood wasn’t going to be a problem, but what about raw seafood? I was an avid sashimi eater before 2013 and always wondered if anything could be supplemented to recreate a vegan version. I eventually gave up because I never came across anything that even remotely resembled it. I just assumed it was going to stay a thing of the past.
Fast forward 3 years later and poke bowls blew up in the food scene. Pretty soon, there were poke shops popping up in every corner. I feel like this gave the jumpstart for the vegan food scene to find a way to create our own poke bowls. The two most common versions I’ve come across are watermelon tuna and tomato tuna. I decided to go with watermelon for this recipe because I felt the pink hue would resemble it much better.
Just a heads up, this recipe is best when you allow it to sit in the marinade overnight. With tomorrow being National Watermelon day, we figured it’d be best to give you this recipe ahead of time so you can celebrate the holiday properly. Let’s not waste anymore time and get started!
Vegan Tuna Poke
Equipment
- Stove
Ingredients
Tuna
- 5 cups Watermelon seedless
Marinade
- 2 tbsp Soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp Sesame oil
- 1 clove Garlic minced
- 1 tsp Ginger minced
- 1 tbsp Green onion chopped
- 2 tsp Kelp granules
For heating the pan
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
Instructions
- Cut watermelon into small pieces and keep them all around the same size. Be sure to remove any seeds.
- Make the marinade by mixing all the ingredients together.
- In a large bowl, toss the cut watermelon in a little less than half of the marinade and allow to marinate while you prep the pan.
- Place the oil in the pan and place the stove to medium high heat.
- Once the pan is heated, throw marinated watermelon on the stove and cook until texture softens and color darkens. This will take 20 minutes or longer depending on the type of pan and stove you use. Stir occasionally so watermelon does not burn.
- Remove from the stove and place cooked watermelon in a container along with the remaining marinade.
- Place in the fridge and allow to marinate for at least 8 hours before serving.
Johnny and I tested this recipe multiple times because we wanted to get it just right. We hope you’ll try it out and enjoy it just as much as we did. Have a great weekend!
With love,
April