4 Quadrants Poke Bowl

One way I like to keep healthy is by making sure there’s a lot of variety in my diet. Many nutritionists and authors suggest to use foods of several colours in plate as a strategy to ensure a variety of micronutrients.

That’s one of reason I love the Poke Bowl concept. It’s so easy to do and it can be different each time. As judging by the images that I see all over Instagram, I’m not the only one!

Do you know the origin of the Poke Bowl The dish was invented in Hawaii, as a result of Hawaiian and Japanese food styles, that’s why some of the most common versions include fish (raw or smoked), vegetable and fruits.

I usually love the one with salmon, but here I experimented a vegetarian combination with mushrooms to give a bit more protein.

Ingredients (2 servings)

• 160 gr rice (I would advise Japanese sushi rice, but others are ok)

• 200 gr water

• 200 gr shiitake Mushrooms

• 1 tbsp liquid amminos

• 30 gr shredded red cabbage

• 50 gr green sprouts

• 1 medium avocado

• Salt to taste

• 1 tsp Extra-virgin Olive Oil or mayonnaise

• Sesame seeds and seaweed to garnish

1. The only difficult step is to prepare the rice. The process is similar to the preparation for sushi. First of all wash the rice 6-7 times until the water becomes clear. After that, use a sieve to get all the water out and let the rice rest in the sieve for 30 minutes. 

2. Check if there are specific instructions in the package to cook the rice. If there are none, usually the suggestion is to place the rice in a pot and add as much water as the equivalent of 1.1 the volume of rice after the washing and resting. Don’t forget to use a lid at this point and don’t remove the lid until the end of the cooking process.

3. Place the pot on medium heat, and from the moment it starts boiling turn the heat to low and start counting 16 minutes. After the 16 minutes are over turn off the heat and don’t open the lid. Let the rice rest for 16 minutes and only after this time you can open the lid and slowly stir the rice with a spatula.

4. When the rice has cooled down, divide it in 2 portions and place in 2 bowls. Top the poke bowl with your favourite ingredients. In this version I divided the bowl in 4 quadrants: first with shredded cabbage, second the green sprouts, third the sautéed shiitake  mushrooms with liquid amminos (5 minutes in a pan are enough), and lastly the avocado cut in cubes.

5. Top with a teaspoon of olive oil, or with a  teaspoon of mayonnaise if you prefer. Finally, sprinkle with sesame seeds and shredded seaweed if you have them available.

TIPS: If you are trying to cut carbs replace the white rice with whole grain or with lattuce. In that case I’d suggest to have protein in one of the quadrants: chicken bites, tofu squares or smoked salmon.