Tuna and Black Rice Poke Bowl

We ate too much.  Way too much.  Both Jimmy and I suffered from…how shall I put this? Let’s say upset tummies were the result of eating huge amounts of rich holiday food.  That’s not to say we won’t indulge again before, during and after Christmas but some days we crave clean.  Simple and clean.  And this is it.  What I call my “Wahine Bowl” is healthful and straightforward.  The ingredients may be changed, substituted, increased or cut out…it’s whatever one likes.  There is no right or wrong.  As for the recipe, a satisfying amount of sushi grade fish is about 3.5 to 4 ounces per person.  Tuna, salmon, hamachi, or pacific yellowtail, are all delicious; the only rule being, make certain you purchase the highest quality sushi grade fish you can get your hands on.  I buy mine at Fresh Market where they carry 7 ounce tuna pieces available either fresh or frozen and packed in cryovac.  I try to always have a few pieces in the freezer as they are great to flash grill as well.  White, brown or black “Forbidden” rice are all fine, however, if you’ve not tasted black rice yet I  strongly suggest you give it a try.  It’s delicious, loaded with antioxidants and we’re trying to clean our acts up, remember?  The gorgeous pink in the photograph is watermelon radish which I found in Whole Foods.  They don’t always have them in stock but when they do I tend to grab a few and plan meals around them.  They look like small, pale green turnips and although they cost a bit more these radishes have the additional advantage of tasting sweeter and less hot than traditional radishes.  And aren’t they positively gorgeous?  Sliced scallions, avocado, red onion, Serrano peppers, pickled ginger, seaweed nori, sesame seeds and kimchi are some of the many ingredients that work well in this dish.  I serve roughly 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of rice per person.   Oh, and 1 1/4 of water to  1 cup of black rice is the perfect ratio.  This is a quick meal to prepare.  While the rice is cooking I’m chopping.  When the rice is ready I leave it uncovered and every once in a while fluff it a little so as to cool it off slightly.  We like the rice served warm or even room temperature.  I hope you’ll try this dish on your “healthier” days during the Christmas season and the rest of the year.

• 7-8 ounces sushi grade tuna or fish of choice
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2-3 cups cooked black rice or rice of choice
• 1 Haas avocado, ripe
• radishes, thinly sliced
• pickled ginger
• seaweed nori
• sriracha or any sweet hot chili sauce
• sesame seeds, black or white

1. Lightly rinse off fish and gently press between paper towels absorbing any excess water.
2. Cut fish into small cubes and place in a glass or non-reactive bowl.
3. In a small bowl whisk soy sauce and sesame oil.  Pour over diced fish and toss well until all the fish is completely covered with the sauce.  Cover bowl and refrigerate until assembling individual servings but do not marinate more than 10-15 minutes.
4. Divide rice evenly between the two bowls.
5. Cover each rice bowl with 1/2 of fish.
6. Cut the avocado in half and divide between the two rice bowls.
7. Add equal parts of radishes, ginger and seaweed to the bowls.
8. Garnish each bowl with sriracha and sesame seeds.
9. Serve immediately.

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