You can’t go wrong with these GORGEOUSLY colourful and flavor-packed poke rice bowls, loaded with honey miso baked salmon, lots of crunchy veggies and a zingy sweet sour dressing. A perfect family-friendly fakeaway idea for busy weeknights.
Whenever I’m stuck for meal inspiration, poke bowls often save the day. There’s just something about piling lots of lovely things on top of each other in a bowl that works so well every time. It’s an easy way to get every flavor in one spoonful and everything can mix and mingle and get to know each other.
While traditionally poke bowls are made with raw fish, I always find it tricky to find the right raw fish in the grocery store, so this baked salmon version is much more accessible for busy weeknights. It takes about 30 minutes all up to make and is as easy as popping some rice on to cook (or use microwave rice to save even more time), toss salmon with a quick honey miso marinade and then prep your veggie toppings and zingy dressing while it cooks.
These are also a brilliant one to prep ahead of time – every element keeps for at least 4 days in the fridge – and it’s just as good cold as it is hot!
Ingredients
- Salmon. For four servings, you’ll want to allow one piece of salmon per person – you can remove the skin if you like, but I haven’t here as it just adds another step.
- Honey. There’s not a lot better than a sweet/salty combination, and honey provides a lovely rich sweetness which pairs beautifully with the miso. I love using Manuka honey, but any will do.
- Miso paste. This lovely fermented soybean paste delivers SUCH a punch, and it’s something I really recommend having in your fridge. Use white miso paste if possible – it’s less salty than red miso paste.
- Crunchy vegetable toppings. This is where you really can play around. I’ve gone for red cabbage, scallions, cucumber and carrots for a great mix of colours, but you could use edamame beans, peas, sugar snap peas, beansprouts, green beans or any crunchy veggies you might have to hand.
- Rice. Regular long-grain rice (like basmati), short-grain rice or brown rice is great here, as is quinoa or even cauliflower rice. I’ve used long-grain white rice in the recipe below, so if you do use something different, make sure to reference the packet as different types of rice have very different cooking times and instructions.
- The dressing. A good, zingy, flavor-packed dressing is essential in a poke bowl, and this one really is flavor-packed. You’ll need honey, soy sauce, fish sauce (don’t knock it until you’ve tried it), rice vinegar, sweet chilli jam, olive oil, garlic and ginger.
How to make it
Mix your honey miso marinade, then dice your salmon and toss the marinade through the pieces. I like to do this straight on a lined oven tray, to save on the washing up. Cook your rice and pop the salmon into the oven. I like to cook this salmon at a high temperature (445F/230C) so that the outside gets a little charred and lovely.
While the salmon and rice cook, prep all your crunchy toppings and mix your honey miso dressing. Then all you need to do is divide your cooked rice between your bowls, top with the veggies and charred salmon, then pour the dressing all over. I love to dollop garlic aioli on the side to finish things off.
Got a question?
Can I make the bowls in advance?
Yes, you can! They’re a great meal prep recipe because every element can be made ahead of time. You can also enjoy them cold, which makes them even easier for lunches. The cooked salmon will keep for 4 days in the fridge, in a sealed container. The prepped veggies and rice will keep well for at least 4 days in the fridge (if you prep the avocado ahead of time, toss it with a little lemon juice to help keep it bright green, or it will brown).
How do I tell that my salmon is cooked?
There are a couple of ways you can check. The simplest is just to cut into the salmon – if it’s cooked, it should easily ‘flake’ away and you’ll find the flesh is pale pink, rather than the brighter orange it started as. You could also use a probe thermometer – insert it into a thick cube and you want the temperature to be at least 145F/63C for cooked salmon.
What else could I top the bowls with?
This is a SUPER flexible recipe in terms of your toppings. I like to make poke bowls to use up odds and ends in my veggie drawer – truly you can use anything crunchy. Bean sprouts, sugar snap peas, green beans, broccolini or asparagus are great options. You could also add chunks of pineapple or mango (canned is fine!)
Watch how to make them
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Description
You can’t go wrong with these GORGEOUSLY colourful and flavor-packed poke rice bowls, loaded with honey miso baked salmon, lots of crunchy veggies and a zingy sweet sour dressing. A perfect family-friendly fakeaway idea for busy weeknights.
For the salmon marinade –
For the poke bowls –
For the dressing –
- Cook the rice. Add 1 cup of long-grain rice and 1 2/3 cups cold water to a small pot you have a lid for. Place the pot over medium-high heat, and when the water starts to foam up, pop the lid on and turn the heat right down. Leave the rice to cook for 12 minutes, then remove from the heat and keep the lid on until you’re ready to serve.
- Prepare the salmon. While the rice cooks, heat your oven to 445F/230C fan and line an oven tray with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 tablespoon of white miso paste and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Arrange the diced salmon on the prepared oven tray, then pour the marinade all over the salmon. Toss the salmon through the marinade, then transfer to the oven for 10 minutes. You want the salmon to look paler in colour, with some charring around the edges after this time.
- Mix the dressing. Add 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of sweet chilli jam, 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar, 2 crushed garlic cloves and the grated ginger to a small bowl (or a jar you have a lid for). Use a fork to mix very well to combine (or pop the lid on your jar and shake well).
- Arrange your bowls.Remove the lid from your rice pot and fluff up the grains with a fork. Divide the rice between bowls. Arrange your prepped crunchy veggies on top of the rice, then divide the salmon pieces on top. Finish with a very good drizzle of the honey dressing and a dollop of aioli.
Notes
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS:This is a wonderful recipe for meal prep because it keeps so well and can easily be made in advance. Every element will keep well for 4 days, stored in the fridge in covered containers. If I’m prepping them in advance, I tend to store the rice, salmon and veggies separately, then just assemble and pour the dressing over when I’m ready. You can enjoy them cold too which makes things even easier. If you’re going to chop your avocado ahead of time, toss the chunks with a little lemon juice before storing, to help retain their bright green colour.
INGREDIENT NOTES:You can absolutely play around with your veggie toppings here, based on what you have to hand and what you like. Swap anything out, or add things like bean sprouts, sugar snap peas or broccolini. Chunks of pineapple or mango are also great, as is spicy mayo (like this speedy gochujang aioli) in place of regular garlic aioli. You could use short-grain rice or brown rice if you like, but make sure to follow the packet cooking instructions as different types of rice have very different cooking times.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: fakeaways
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: japanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 350g
- Calories: 599
- Sugar: 24.7g
- Sodium: 476.6mg
- Fat: 21.5g
- Saturated Fat: 3.1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12/8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 72.4g
- Fiber: 7g
- Protein: 33.5g
- Cholesterol: 60.6mg
Keywords: salmon poke bowls, poke bowls
