These vegan tofu poke bowls are bursting with flavor! Made with pan-fried tofu, juicy mango chunks and macadamia nuts with a gingery dressing, they're both delicious and refreshing. The best part: these babies are super easy to meal prep!
I had pretty limited understanding of what makes a poke bowl until recently. All I really knew about poke bowl at that point was that it was Hawaiian and usually involved raw fish. So whatever, I thought.
I didn't think poke bowl, even in vegan form, was something I really needed in my life, especially since I already had my sushi bowls.
It turns out I LOVE poke bowls. They're delicious and refreshing and I can't think of a more summery dinner that's perfect for a hot day.
Jump to:
What's in a Poke Bowl
My understanding is that there's no hard and fast rule as to what goes in a poke bowl. There's generally a bed of rice. And while traditional poke bowls involve raw fish, a vegan poke bowl that uses tofu or veggies instead is totally legit.
You'll also find an array of produce, often a mix of fruit and vegetables, and some flavorful dressing.
These particular tofu poke bowls are made with brown rice topped with pan-fried tofu, mango chunks, avocado slices, radishes, edamame, macadamia nuts, and sesame ginger dressing.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Brown rice. This is the base for our tofu poke bowl, but don't feel limited — you can absolutely substitute a different variety of rice or a totally different grain like quinoa or farro.
- Water.
- Soy sauce. You can substitute with gluten-free tamari or liquid aminos if needed.
- Rice vinegar.
- Maple syrup. Another liquid sweetener like agave or coconut nectar can be substituted if needed.
- Toasted sesame oil.
- Fresh ginger.
- Canola oil. Any high heat oil will work if you don't like canola. Coconut oil, avocado oil and peanut oil are all fine!
- Extra-firm tofu. You can also use super-firm tofu, which doesn't require pressing, if you prefer.
- Edamame. You can buy shelled edamame in the frozen vegetable aisle of most supermarkets.
- Mango.
- Pineapple.
- Bell pepper.
- Radishes.
- Avocado.
- Macadamia nuts. Okay, so these are a little pricey, but they're delicious! Substitute with your favorite type of nut, or even sesame seeds, if you don't want to spring for macadamias.
- Scallions. Also known as green onions.
- Cilantro. Not everyone is a fan of fresh cilantro. If this includes you, you have my blessing to skip it.
Tip: Switch things up and make these bowls your own. Prefer tempeh to tofu? Use it instead! Got some pineapple on hand? Substitute it for the mango. Not into edamame? Swap them out with your favorite green veggie — steamed or raw.
How They're Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
The nice thing about these tofu poke bowls is that there's not a lot of cooking involved. Just the rice and the tofu. Assuming you already know how to cook your rice, let's talk about that tofu.
First, whip up your dressing. You'll be mixing up some soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and ginger. This is what'll be drizzled over your bowl before serving, but it's also the sauce we'll use to flavor the tofu.
Press your tofu and cut it into cubes. Heat up a little bit of oil in a skillet and add your tofu. Pan-fry it until it's golden and crispy, and then drizzle about a third of your dressing over the tofu — save the rest. Let the tofu cook for another minute or two until most of the liquid dries up.
Tip: For some tips on how to pan-fry your tofu perfectly for this recipe, check out this pan-fried tofu tutorial.
From there, it's just a matter of chopping everything up and arranging it in a bowl. Rice on the bottom, everything else on top, with a sprinkling of scallions and a drizzle of that dressing.
Meal Prep Option
These poke bowls are really easy to meal prep, which is one I love them for summer (the season that I least enjoy being in the kitchen). Just whip up the dressing and cook your rice and tofu ahead of time. You can also prep all of your produce in advance, with the one possible exception of the avocado, which might turn brown during storage.
Store everything in separate airtight containers in the fridge, and then heat up your rice and tofu before serving (or don't, if it's a really hot day), and assemble your bowls.
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
Vegan Poke Bowls with Sesame Ginger Tofu
These vegan tofu poke bowls are bursting with flavor! Made with pan-fried tofu, juicy mango chunks and macadamia nuts with a gingery dressing, they're both delicious and refreshing. The best part: these babies are super easy to meal prep!
Ingredients
- ½ cup brown rice
- 1 cup water
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons canola oil, or high heat oil of choice
- 7 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
- ½ cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
- 1 cup diced fresh mango (about 1 medium mango)
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper (about 1 pepper)
- 2 small radishes, thinly sliced
- ½ avocado, sliced
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped roasted macadamia nuts
- 2 tablespoons chopped scallions
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
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Place the rice and water into a small saucepan and set it over medium heat.
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Bring the water to a boil, lower the heat and cover the pan.
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Allow the rice to cook until tender and the water is absorbed, about 40 minutes, or according to the package instructions.
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While the rice cooks, stir the soy sauce, rice vinegar, maple syrup, sesame oil, and ginger together in a small bowl.
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Coat the bottom of a medium skillet with the canola oil and place it over medium heat.
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Give the oil a minute to heat up, and then add the tofu. Arrange it in an even layer.
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Cook the tofu for about 10 minutes, flipping once or twice, until browned and crispy on multiple sides.
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Pour about a third of the soy sauce mixture over the tofu.
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Continue cooking the tofu for about 1 minute more, until most of the liquid has cooked off.
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When the rice has finished cooking, remove it from the heat and let it sit with the lid on for about 5 minutes.
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Uncover the rice and divide it into bowls. Arrange the tofu, edamame, mango, bell pepper, radishes, and avocado over the rice. Sprinkle with macadamia nuts, scallions and cilantro, then drizzle with the remaining soy sauce mixture.
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Serve.
I just love your recipes. Almost every time I receive an email email from you I say, I want to make this recipe.
I try to cook with little to no oil for heart health and to continue dropping weight. Therefore I simply leave out the oil; or maybe I wipe the pan with some sesame oil to slightly brown the tofu. Otherwise, for me, your recipes are perfection and simplicity.
Thank you for inspiring my journey (1 1/2 years into it) into plant based cooking.
Thanks so much Ken! This is wonderful to hear! I'm glad you're enjoying the recipes. Congrats on your weight loss and making it to this point in your plant-based journey!
While I'm sure it's yummy, poke is fish. A poke bowl is fish with others stuff I guess. In the place of origins it's originally just fish and some seasonings. This is not a poke bowl, it's an 3ast Asian something. Buts it's not a Hawaiian dish in anyway.
I had to drop by to say thanks for this one. I had a poke bowl for the first time last year so was excited to give this a try at home. Edamame are tough to find locally and I didn't make it to the Asian store so decided to go with frozen fava beans instead. I thought I didn't like them but realized either I was wrong or my tastebuds have evolved. ; D It was a great summer dinner!
Awesome! Fava beans sounds like a great substitution. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I LOVE your food images and am sure they are delicious, but there is SO MUCH OIL. We follow a WFPB way of eating, so no oil for us. Thank you,
Mary
Thanks Mary! My recipes are vegan and not necessarily WFPB. Feel free to modify them as needed to suit your needs. :)
This is great, I switched up the rice for cauliflower rice and it's just as good! Love (and make) all your recipes, best vegan site by far, keep it up!
Cauliflower rice sounds like a wonderful twist! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
This was so delicious!
I just decided to make it on my birthday-party for 20 persons :)
Wow! What a wonderful thing to do for your guests! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and Happy Birthday!!
Delicious! Loved the sauce, it made it so flavorful!
Yum :)