3 Easy Steps How To Make Poke Bowl in Thai Style

When a Hawaiian dish meets Thai cuisine

If you’re a fish lover, one of a dish you can’t walk away is a poke bowl which consists of many kinds of cubed fresh raw fish, but what if I would make it zesty and spicy in Thai style?

Originally, poke is a Hawaiian appetizer salad mixed with sesame oil, sweet onion, fish roe, soyu, based of rice or vegetable.

In this recipe, I will transfer to Thai-style larb sauce and still keep its simplicity.

I had only imagined, and finally, my first attempt was nearly successful, then I developed the recipe again.

Now, It is a bomb!

Only 3 easy steps I can do it easily for the family party!

After I moved to Seattle where I could find fresh fish easily, I fell in love with All kinds of the raw-fish dish, and here was where I arrived in the paradise!

Larb is usually made with cooked chopped chicken, pork, duck or fish mixed in 3-flavor sauce—fish sauce, sugar and lime juice—and some herbs, so this will be the first time I try to use raw fish. And, this is how I invent a fusion dish called “Larb Poke”

My first attempt was not quite excellent because I used a low-cost fish sauce brand. That made this bowl terribly fishy. And, the granulated white sugar not seemed to go well with my recipe so I’d developed to use savory brown sugar instead.

Ok, I’ll stop telling and start showing now 😉

Step 1: Prepare Fish And Vegetables

Fish Selection

You can shop any kinds of fish you like. I personally love Otoro which is Tuna belly–extra omega 3, oh yah!– Coho Salmon, Ahi Tuna, cooked squid and big-size scallop.

When I purchase all these fish, they are sushi-grade which means you can cut and eat them right the way. Or, if you’re not sure, you might want to keep them in the freezer for about 2 hours and start preparing.

In addition, I grab some smelt roe as well. It has a nice salty-savory and a feeling crumbly to the bowl.

Vegetable Preparation

I select vegetables and herbs from Larb (if you’re familiar with); red onion, green onion, mint, kafir lime leaves, and cilantro.

Also, I like to add some Japanese vegetables such as green sprouts, Japanese cucumber, shiso leaves and spiraled daikon.

Unfortunately, I didn’t capture the preparation steps, so these images above would be already prep and ready to mix. Or, you can scroll up to see the image on the top page.

Step 2: Sauce Mixing

Larb sauce is very simple which has only fish sauce, brown sugar, and lime juice. 

For 4 servings I used,

Fish sauce 2 Tbsp

Granulated brown sugar 1 1/2 Tbsp

Fresh-squeezed lime juice 2 Tbsp

Kao Kua (Roasted Rice Powder) 2 Tbsp

Dry chili flakes 1 Tbsp

Then, mix with a whisk until sugar is dissolved.

That’s it!

Step 3: Mix and Present (Final)

Now, mix the sauce and diced fish and squid. Leave it for about 15-30 mins to let the fish absorb our zesty sauce.

Meanwhile, prepare a bowl by first adding a base. You can choose if you prefer rice, quinoa, or other vegetables, but here I put green leaf lettuce, shiso and spiraled daikon.

Next, add diced cucumber, diced green onion, minced red onion, shredded lime leaves, torn mints, and some of the smelt roe, and gently mix it with a spoon.

After nicely putting the mixture on the bowl, I top it with seared scallop, green sprouts, spiraled daikon, pickled ginger, cilantro and some more of the smelt roe(I like this a lot, and I keep mentioning it!)

Amy asked if she could take some photos of it, then she found a wooden plate and made a prop, then took it with her phone. Hmmm…awesome but hurry up -_-

After the first bite, I liked it how the fish was still cool and firm. It didn’t taste fishy at all which I thought it should do. On the other hand, it had a taste of herbs, Kao Kua, and chili in perfectly 3 flavors.

Also, try to eat with fresh vegetables such as green leaf lettuce, cabbage, cucumber or the daikon. That will help you refresh your mouth!