You the know the nights when your dinner plan falls through (or you just never had a plan) and have to come up with something quick totally from scratch?

That’s how I invent a lot of my dinner recipes. Pure desperation to feed 5 hungry people STAT.

That happened to me recently. Our week went differently than normal and I hadn’t been able to grocery shop or meal plan for the week, so I was just winging it with whatever we had on hand. It was 4:30 (but felt like 5:30 because of recent daylight savings so we were all really hungry) and we are accustomed to eating dinner right at 5:00 p.m. when my work-from-home husband shuts his laptop.

To get at least something going for dinner, I put some frozen mixed vegetables onto a baking sheet and started roasting those. At least we’d have that.

Then I had to come up with something else. I had no frozen meals. Nothing pre-made. Ideas loading…..loading….loading. Nothing.

Then I saw the frozen edamame I had. That gave me the idea for poke bowls.

I don’t like to serve white rice, but knew I had no time for brown rice. I thankfully had a small amount of white sushi rice stuffed on the back of a pantry shelf, so I started cooking that. It only takes 15 minutes to cook verses 45.

I microwaved the edamame and happily found one avocado in the fridge and it was actually ripe.

I found one of the last remaining cucumbers from our garden in the back of the produce drawer. A little wrinkly but it would do. Haha.

Miraculously, there were a few green onions that were fresh-looking in that sparse produce drawer as well.

Then I cut up the one package of tofu we had and sauteed it until golden brown. Rice and tofu are a solid win with my kids every time so I knew this dinner would go over well.

I mixed together a quick soy sauce-rice vinegar-ginger-maple-sesame sauce and voila! I did it again! Made dinner from what seemed like a kitchen in short supply.

It’s the best feeling to pull together dinner when you weren’t really prepared to.

I hope this meal fits the bill for you when you need it to.

What is a Poke Bowl?

The word “poke” (po-kay) means “cut into pieces” in Hawaiian, and the dish is traditionally made with raw fish cubes marinated in soy sauce and served over rice with vegetables. A vegan poke bowl is made with vegan ingredients instead of raw fish, but retains the rice, vegetables, and yummy sauce.

Variations of this Bowl

You can use pre-baked tofu, like they have at Trader Joes and other places. It’s often flavored or smoked. Then you just open the package and it’s ready. Or, skip the tofu altogether and rely on edamame or other protein of choice.

Gochujang sauce or other Asian sauces (hoisin, chili garlic) would also be yummy on top. It’s also easy to make a peanut sauce.

If you’d like a simpler spicy mayo than getting your blender out, mix a little sriracha sauce with any mayo you have.

Shredded cabbage, cilantro, steamed broccoli, grated carrots, or chopped fresh or frozen mango would all be yummy additions.

For a soy-free similar recipe, check out my Sushi Bowls recipe and leave out the edamame.

Hoping you enjoy this fresh, green meal!

20-Minute Poke Bowls

When you need a yummy dinner fast, throw this together!

Author: Faith Ralphs

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20

Servings servings

Ingredients

2 cups dry rice (any variety that cooks in the time you have!) or 3-4 cups cooked rice
1 bag shelled frozen edamame
1 cucumber
1 bunch green onions
1 ripe avocado
1 16-oz block extra firm or super firm tofu
sesame seeds
toasted nori sheets (if you like them), folded and cut with scissors into small pieces

Poke Bowl Sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce or alternative
2 TBSP rice vinegar
2 TBSP maple syrup
2 tsp sesame oil (can be omitted for oil-free)
2 tsp grated ginger (or 1/4 tsp dry ground ginger)

Spicy Mayo (make either this OR the poke bowl sauce OR both!)

1/2 cup raw cashews (or sunflower seeds), soaked in hot water if you don't have a powerful blender
1/3 cup water
1 TBSP lime juice
2 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp soy sauce
1 TBSP sriracha sauce

Instructions

Get the rice cooking first.
Make the sauce you choose--either the poke bowl sauce or the spicy cashew mayo.
Cube the block of tofu, or break it into bite-size pieces with rough edges. Put the cubes in a bowl and toss with a tablespoon of soy sauce (or simply salt and pepper) or a little bit of the poke bowl sauce if you're using that. Saute the tofu in a lightly-oiled or nonstick skillet, letting it cook a few minutes until brown on the bottom until flipping it. Remove and put the golden-brown tofu into a bowl.
Meanwhile, microwave the edamame in a bowl of water for 3-4 minutes, or steam it on the stove.
Peel and chop the cucumber, and cube up the avocado. Slice the green onions. I put all these things into little bowls so everyone can customize their own poke bowl.
Let everyone assemble their own bowl with rice and desired toppings and sauce. Stir your bowl all together into one beautiful saucy compilation!
Red pepper flakes, sriracha, torn nori sheets and sesame seeds on top are all great!

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Would you like to save this?

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!