"Make your own" Poke Party

On warm and sunny days I like to eat a little lighter. Tonight felt like a good night for some poke. The toddler wasn't interested in the tuna texture, but she did eat some of the rice! There are all sorts of combinations that you can use for this recipe.

This would be perfect for a dinner party. Everything can be made ahead and people can pair any way they want. Similarly if you are a paleo/Low-carb eater, but have family members that don't, this would be easy for everyone to participate in. 

Components of a Poke Bowl:
1. Fish - usually raw. For tonight, I used sushi grade tuna. You want to go specifically to a fish store and ask what is sashimi grade.  Another easily accessible option would be salmon. If you want a cooked fish you could use cooked shrimp or crab.

2. Base - Sticky rice or brown rice. If you're paleo, dice up some cucumbers or use avocado as your base.

3. Toppings! Here are some good options:
 - spicy chinese pickled cucumbers (Below recipe)
 - diced sweet onion or red onion
 - pickled ginger (I like this brand)
 - furitake (a mixture of seaweed, sesame seeds, sugar. it is ADDICTIVELY delicious. I add it to eggs and rice all the time. Link to brand I use)
 - diced avocado
 - diced scallion
 - cilantro
 - spicy mayo (recipe below)
 - jalapenos

Sashimi marinade Ingredients:
- 1 lb of sashimi grade fish. I used tuna, but you could use salmon or whatever sashimi grade fish you want.
- 3 Tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce or tamari if you are looking to avoid soy
- 2 Tablespoons of fish sauce (I use Red Boat which is paleo)
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil (I use Kadoya. People are split on if sesame oil is paleo. it's up to you)
- 2 Tablespoon rice  vinegar (I use Marukan. Sub Bragg's apple cider vinegar if you want to be paleo)

Sushi marinade directions:
Mix the soy/tamari, sesame oil and vinegar in a bowl. Cube fish and add to the bowl. You don't need to make this ahead, but you could make ahead about 1-2 hours with no issues.

Rice Directions Options/ Directions:
Sticky Rice = 2 cups sticky rice (Koda Farms) + 2.5 cups water. hit "Manual" and set to 12 minutes. Flip lever to sealing
Brown rice = 2 cups of brown rice + 2.75 cups water. hit "Manual" and set to 16 minutes. Flip lever to sealing. You could make the rice a day ahead. 

Spicy Chinese Cucumbers Ingredients:
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon chili oil (I use this brand) If you want to be paleo use 1 Tablespoon avocado or olive oil + 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tablespoon rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar if paleo
4 mini cucumbers

Spicy Chinese Cucumbers Directions:
Slice cucumbers in thin slices. Place in a strainer. sprinkle the salt over the cucumbers and let it sit for 10 minutes. Squeeze cucumbers to drain. The texture of the cucumber will be more pliant. In a pan, heat up the chili oil and garlic. Add vinegar once it starts heating up. Add cucumbers and saute one minute. Turn off heat and move to a container (You can do this 1-2 days ahead)

Spicy Mayo (If you love that spicy sauce on sushi, this is it):
Kewpie mayo (link)
Siracha (link)

Spicy Mayo Directions:
Mix 2 Tablespoons of mayo to 1 Tablespoon of siracha. Adjust based on your heat preference