Recipes

Rising Sun Poke Bowl with Yuzu Dressing

Salmon or tuna over sushi rice with nori, cucumber, pickled ginger and onion, dressed in a bright yuzu soy dressing.

By Lincoln Moore3 min read

Rising sun poke 15 Bowl

The Rising Sun is the lightest and brightest of our poke bowls. Instead of a creamy sauce it uses a citrusy yuzu and soy dressing, with nori, cucumber, pickled ginger and pickled onion for a clean, sharp finish.

Ingredients

For the yuzu dressing

  • 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
  • 1 tbsp yuzu juice (or 2 tsp lemon juice plus 1 tsp lime juice)
  • 1 tsp mirin
  • 2 tbsp dashi or water
  • 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil

For the bowls

  • 300 g (10 oz) sushi-grade salmon or tuna, cut into 2 cm cubes
  • 2 cups cooked sushi rice (below)
  • 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp quick pickled red onion
  • 2 tbsp pickled sushi ginger
  • 1/2 cup wakame seaweed salad
  • 1 sheet nori, cut into thin strips
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced
  • Toasted sesame seeds

How to make it

  1. Make the sushi rice and let it cool to warm.
  2. Whisk the dressing ingredients together.
  3. Toss the fish with half the dressing and chill for 10 minutes.
  4. Divide the rice between two bowls and top with the fish, cucumber, pickled onion, ginger and seaweed salad.
  5. Spoon over the rest of the dressing and finish with nori strips, scallions and sesame seeds.

Sushi rice for two

Rinse 1 cup short-grain sushi rice until the water runs almost clear, then cook it with 1 1/4 cups water (in a rice cooker or a covered pan on low for 15 minutes, then 10 minutes resting off the heat). Stir together 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 2 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt until dissolved and fold it gently into the hot rice. Let it cool to warm or room temperature before building the bowls.

Buying and handling raw fish

Buy fish sold as sushi-grade or labeled safe to eat raw, on the day you plan to eat it, and keep it cold until the moment you cube and dress it. Raw fish is not recommended during pregnancy or for anyone with a weakened immune system; for them, use cooked salmon or shrimp, or tofu, dressed the same way.

Our old menu used hijiki seaweed in this bowl. We now use wakame instead: food safety agencies including the UK Food Standards Agency advise against eating hijiki because it can contain high levels of inorganic arsenic. Wakame gives the same savory, ocean flavor.

Why it works

With no mayo-based sauce, this is the lightest bowl in the lineup, and the citrus dressing makes the fish taste fresher. Salmon brings omega-3 fats and plenty of protein.

The pickles do the heavy lifting on flavor: pickled ginger and onion cut through the richness of the fish so every bite tastes bright.

Make it your own

  • No yuzu: a mix of lemon and lime juice gets close.
  • Spicy: add a little chili crisp or sliced fresh chili.
  • Cooked: seared salmon or cooked shrimp instead of raw fish.

More poke: Maui-Style, Miso and Rising Sun bowls, or poke on avocado toast. See our guide to poke bowls.

Keep reading