Easy Shrimp Poke Bowl

Shrimp Poke Bowl is a simple and delicious Hawaiian-inspired recipe that's on the table in under 30 minutes. You can also easily customise it to different diets (e.g. vegetarian), making for a great family weeknight dinner. Full of fresh ingredients which are readily available, so no need to trek down to the Asian grocery store!

Jump to:

• ⭐ Why This Recipe is a Star
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 📖 Variations & Substitutes
• 🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
• 🥡 How to Store
• 🥗 Other Asian Summer Recipes
• Easy Shrimp Poke Bowl
• 💬 Comments

⭐ Why This Recipe is a Star

1. Easy: this seafood sushi bowl is a really simple to put together deconstructed sushi roll, like sushi bake with salmon! It's also great for meal prep as you can make most of the ingredients ahead of time. If you don't have shrimp, you can also use imitation crab or tinned tuna.
2. Delicious: it's fresh and full of textures, from creamy avocado to juicy shrimp and crunchy vegetables.
3. All-rounded meal: you have lean protein from the shrimp, nutrients and fibre from the crunchy veggies and carbohydrates from the rice! You can even switch to brown rice if you're on a low-GI diet or cauliflower rice if you're on a low-carb plan. If you have cucumber on hand, you can use the leftover ingredients from this dish to make a mango cucumber side salad.

🥘 Ingredients

You will need a few simple ingredients:

• cooked shrimp: thawed frozen or fresh shrimp work. I poached mine as it's healthier but you can also grill them. If grilling, remember to pat dry with a paper towel or the shrimp won't get the nice char. A Cook's Illustrated tip is to marinate 1 lb of shrimp with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of baking soda (not powder!), refrigerating for 15 minutes, to make it juicier! (Poaching shrimp in coconut water makes them sweeter, and you can use the water to make this warming lemongrass soup!) You can even use coconut shrimp if you want!
• rice: I like to use sushi rice (short grain rice) for my spicy shrimp poke bowls. (Sure you could make a bowl of rice and shrimp with jasmine rice, but it wouldn't be the same!) Brown rice and quinoa good too or, for a low carb option, use cauliflower rice.
• avocado: they're not only creamy, they're full of healthy fats that are good for you! Cut them into cubes instead of slices to make it easier to scoop them up!
• mangoes: the tangy sweetness complements the spicy mayo really well, so don't skip this. If you do, think about substituting with fresh pineapple, cherry tomatoes or quick cucumber pickles (pickled ginger works too if you want to take a more Japanese route!)
• other suggested but optional fresh veggies: julienned matchstick carrots, red pepper, bell peppers, edamame, green onions, a slice of lime, coriander etc

Note: frozen shrimp will need to thaw overnight in the fridge to defrost.

For the creamy shrimp sauce:

• mayonnaise: I recommend Japanese Kewpie Mayo which is more savory and delicious than regular mayo! If you don't have it, just add a pinch of sugar to your mayo.
• sriracha: to make the spicy mayonnaise, sriracha is standard, but you can also use sambal oelek mayo, gochujang mayo or Korean kimchi mayo! Sometimes I even use yuzu mayo mixed with gochugaru flakes!
• light soy sauce: don't use sweet soy or dark soy, which are different. Instead, if necessary, you can substitute with fish sauce or salt. (Coconut aminos or tamari work too if you're GF.)
• white rice vinegar: you can also use white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar etc but the best option would be to use the brine from the Asian cucumber pickles, if you have some on hand! If not, a squeeze of lime juice works too.

Note: if you're not a fan of Mayo, you can use a soy-honey-lime juice mix instead.

Note: I suggest garnishing with lightly toasted white sesame seeds (or Japanese furikake seasoning), julienned nori sheet, crispy onions and maybe a squeeze of lime. If you don't have lime, you can also serve with kimchi for the acidity.

📖 Variations & Substitutes

• Sashimi Poke Bowl: The traditional Hawaiian Poke Bowl actually uses marinated fish, cut into cubes. You can substitute with or add raw fish to your shrimp poke bowl recipe. (Sashimi-grade, of course.) Use the rest of the ingredients from this recipe, sans the shrimp sauce ones!
• Salmon Poke Bowl: Use baked teriyaki salmon or gochujang paste salmon instead of shrimp. As per the above, use the rest of the ingredients from this recipe, sans the shrimp sauce ones!
• Canned Tuna Poke Bowl: You can mix canned tuna with the sriracha mayo sauce above, sambal aioli, kimchi aioli or gochujang aioli. Alternatively, use Asian spicy tuna instead of the shrimp.
• Vegetarian option: substitute the shrimp with a plant-based protein like tempeh or tofu.

🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions

🥡 How to Store

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. (Don't leave leftover rice at room temperature for too long as it goes bad quickly.)

You can reheat the shrimp if you want though note the texture will suffer.

🥗 Other Asian Summer Recipes

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