Yes, yes poke is raw fish and this is a vegan recipe. As per usual I’m and playing it fast and loose with the food rules and calling things what I feel like. The steamed and marinated beetroot stands in for the raw fish in this ‘poke’ rendition and it’s full of fresh, light flavours.

This is a great at home poke replacement if you can’t get your hands on sushi grade seafood or just good fresh sustainable seafood in general. If you want one with fish in it check out this guy! I love the texture of the beetroot in this, it retains some bite and has a nice mellow flavour that’s so good with the salty soy, chilli and sesame in the dressing.

You can pick and choose what toppings you leave off, these are my favourites and I always want ALL of them. But I like toppings! Feel free to just pick a couple if you want to simplify things.

The seaweed for the seaweed salad can be hard to find and you could sub with a sheet of nori to add that sort of flavour. Or just leave it out. The bowl will still be super tasty. When you steam the beetroot don’t worry too much if it’s not super tender all the way through. You’re lightly pickling it too and you can eat beetroot raw.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 small medium beetroot

2 Tbs soy sauce

1 Tbs rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp freshly grated ginger (optional)

3 cups brown rice

4 cups edamame beans (in pods)

4 radishes, finely sliced

3 carrots

1 Avocado, finely sliced

2/3 cup finely chopped spring onion

1 Tbs toasted sesame seed

2 Tbs pickled ginger

Lime wedges to serve

Seaweed salad (optional)

20g dried wakame seaweed

1 tbs toasted sesame seeds

1 Tbs rice wine vinegar

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

2 tsp tamari or soy

1 tsp sesame oil

1 Tbs spring onion, finely sliced

Directions

Place a steam basket over a pot of boiling water, add the beetroot and cover with a lid. Steam for 20 – 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Peel skin of and trim. Chop into a 1 -2cm dice and put in a medium bowl with the soy, chilli, rice wine,sesame oil and grated ginger if using. Allow to marinate for 15 minutes or overnight. This will keep in the fridge for days.

If using, prepare seaweed salad: Place dried seaweed in a bowl and cover in cold water. Let stand for 5 minutes then drain. Squeeze out any excess water and return to a dry bowl. Add finely chopped spring onion. Combine rice wine vinegar, soy,  sesame oil, ginger and sesame seeds. Pour over spring onion and seaweed and mix well to combine. Set aside.

Place edamame in a bowl and cover with boiling ater. Allow to stand for a couple of minutes then drain and pod.

Use a vegetable peeler or mandolin to make carrot ribbons.

Chop the cucumber into thin slices and cut in half, toss with sesame seeds.

Assemble your bowls by placing rice and carrot ribbons on the bottom and topping with the cucumber, edamame, spring onion, avocado, beetroot, seaweed salad, radish and pickled ginger. Serve the extra beetroot dressing on the side and add as you see fit.

HH. x