A smoked salmon poke bowl is like eating a Hawaiian poke bowl and lox and bagel brunch at the same time! The flavors are bright and fresh and the bowls are so fun to assemble.
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases. Your price is never affected.
Jump to:
This smoked salmon poke bowl recipe combines some of my favorite elements from my family's mixed religious and cultural heritage. It's like the best New York bagel and hawaiian poke all in one!
As much as I love poke with freshly-caught fish, smoked salmon is an exciting twist, especially if you don't have easy access to sushi-grade raw fish. The everything bagel seasoning stands in for a seaweed mixture called furikake. And the pickled red onions and green onions are a nod to the raw onion often found on a lox & bagel buffet or in fresh poke.
Why you'll love this smoked salmon poke bowl!
- Warm-weather friendly: Want something filling and savory but don't want to turn on the oven? This smoked salmon poke bowl recipe is it! But you'll find yourself eating this all year round, even when the temperatures start dropping.
- Easy-to-find ingredients: Almost every store carries a decent brand of smoked salmon but not every store has sushi-grade fresh raw fish. No gochujang in the house for the sauce? I make alternative suggestions below.
- Perfect for buffets & make-your-own bars: When you have a picky crowd - whether adults or kids - letting them choose what they want on their plate is always a smart way to serve. And it's fun for everyone.
- Flexible: So many ways to make this your own - use regular rice instead of sushi rice, ½ greens/1/2 rice, all greens/no rice, change up the vegetables, change up the protein ...
- Beautiful: The variety of toppings and ingredients especially on a base of white sushi rice is just lovely to see no matter how you plate it up!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Don't let the number of ingredients in this smoked salmon poke bowl recipe trick you - this bowl is easy to put together. Many ingredients can be prepped ahead or even store-bought. Read on!
- Cucumbers: I love Persian cucumbers for this - size and crunch - but any cucumber will work.
- Edamame: I buy frozen shelled edamame and just microwave the amount I need. So quick and easy. I always have some in the freezer and use it in salads all the time.
- Corn: Obviously fresh is great but as with the edamame, I keep a bag of Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn and use it for this and in so many salads.
- Smoked Salmon: I use whatever brand I might buy to make a bagels and lox brunch.
- Sushi rice: Definitely important to use Japanese short grain rice. Easy-ish brands to find are Kokuho Rose or Nishiki. As for "sushiizing" it, you can skip this step but honestly, it's fun to make and delicious to eat. If you are eating lower carb - sub in some greens instead of rice. Or even try another grain. Or another kind of rice such as jasmine or brown but please don't try to make sushi rice with anything but Japanese short grain. The starch level is key!
Shoyu sauce
- Soy sauce: I like to use low-sodium, especially in this recipe since smoked salmon and everything bagel seasoning can be salty.
- Lemon juice: Regular or Meyer lemon works great - this is such a nice way to harken to a lox platter and to lighten up the sauce at the same time.
- Sesame oil: A little bit goes a long way - toasted sesame oil is nice here.
- Gochujang: This is a Korean spice paste available in Korean markets, online and sometimes at your regular grocer too. If you don't have any or can't find it, use sriracha or sambal
- Everything bagel seasoning: While I love the version I created, feel free to buy a pre-made variety. Just be careful of the sodium level. You can also just use sesame seeds as a fall back or a jar of furikake if you have one - the more expected seaweed based mixture that is often sprinkled on a poke bowl.
Pickled red onions
- I posted the pickled red onions recipe separately but the ingredients and process are very simple - basically a red onion, vinegar, water, salt and sugar! Pickled red onions are not so easy to find in the grocery store, but oh so easy to make. And make these ahead - in fact - get in the habit of making these regularly to keep on your condiment shelf in the refrigerator!
Everything bagel seasoning
- I also wrote a separate post for this everything bagel seasoning spice mix but honestly, it barely needs one, it's so easy to put together. And if you make it yourself, you can control the salt level (as discussed above under the shoyu sauce).
Let's make this poke bowl step-by-step!
(Printable recipe card is at the end of the post with ingredients, measurements and step-by-step instructions. This section includes more and larger pictures and high level explanations of the process.)
Jump to RecipeStep 1: Prep ahead
Step 2: pre-assembly items
Shoyu sauce for the smoked salmon:
- Can also prep this ahead but it's easy to put together just before assembling the bowls as well.
- Just measure all the ingredients, put them in a bowl and whisk them together.
- The only element that requires any thought is the gochujang - it's a paste and will require a bit more whisking to get it fully incorporated with the more liquidy ingredients.
Email this recipe to me!
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Sushi rice:
- Place the hot cooked rice in the widest, flattest bowl you have.
- Prepare your sushi vinegar per recipe instructions or use pre-made sushi vinegar.
- Pour it over the rice and use a slicing and folding motion to incorporate it while fanning the rice (you can do this alone but an extra hand/person is also very handy).
- You will see a lovely sheen on your rice when the vinegar has been incorporated.
Nami from the blog Just One Cookbook has a wonderful post on making sushi rice if you want to deep dive even further!
Smoked Salmon mixture:
- Tear your smoked salmon into small bite-size pieces then add a tablespoon or two of the shoyu sauce and some green onions and mix to combine.
Step 3: Assemble the smoked salmon poke bowls!
- Place some sushi rice in first, then a nice serving of salmon in the center (or wherever you want to put it!) and then some pickled red onions and edamame.
- Keep assembling - add avocado, corn, fresh cucumber and finally finish with just a touch more shoyu sauce and everything bagel seasoning if you'd like.
Beth's expert tips and recipe FAQs
- Almost all of the elements of this smoked salmon poke bowl can be prepped ahead - the pickled red onions, the everything bagel seasoning, the shoyu sauce, even the sushi rice can be made a few hours or a day ahead.
- Have fun with the ingredients - change the base, add more spice, use different or more vegetables - make this your own!
- If you are making sushi rice - be sure you use Japanese short grain rice. Otherwise, it's ok to switch to a different rice or grain for the base.
What if I don't have Japanese short grain rice?
That's no problem - just don't try to make traditional sushi rice with any other kind of rice.
I don't have low sodium soy sauce - what can I substitute?
You can use regular soy sauce but I might leave out the salt in the Everything Bagel Seasoning to keep the sodium level balanced. Or increase the lemon juice ratio to soy a bit more in the shoyu salmon sauce.
Can I use fresh fish instead of smoked salmon?
Absolutely - if you have access to fresh sushi grade fish - by all means use it. Might taste a little less like a "bagel in a bowl" but it will still be excellent!
Other Hawaiian Recipes on OMG! Yummy
Buy my cookbook now!
P.S. If you try this recipe, please leave a star rating and/or a review in the comment section below. I so appreciate your feedback! AND find more inspiration on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Signup for my email list, too!
Smoked Salmon Poke Bowl
Beth LeeA smoked salmon poke bowl is like eating a Hawaiian poke bowl and lox and bagel brunch at the same time! The flavors are bright and fresh and the bowls are so fun to assemble.
Ingredients
To assemble the bowl:
- 12 ounce package smoked salmon cut or torn into bite size pieces
- 2 cups Sushi rice see recipe below or use plain rice
- 2 Persian cucumbers sliced
- ½ cup edamame can use frozen, defrosted
- ½ cup corn can use frozen, defrosted
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1 green onion sliced
- Shoyu salmon sauce see ingredients and recipe below
- pickled red onions use my recipe, make ahead
- Everything bagel seasoning use my recipe or store-bought, make ahead
Shoyu salmon sauce:
- ⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon gochuchang or spicy sauce of your choosing optional
- 1 teaspoon everything bagel seasoning
Sushi rice:
- 1.5 cups short grain Japanese rice cooked (using rice cup measurer - it's two rice cups which will yield 4 full cups of cooked rice)
- 4 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
To make the shoyu sauce:
- Place all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Will last in the refrigerator for several days so feel free to make ahead or make extra.
To make the sushi rice:
- Cook rice in rice cooker if you have one.
- While the rice is cooking, prepare your rice vinegar mixture by putting the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a microwave safe measuring cup or bowl. Heat for about 60 seconds - just long enough to dissolve the sugar and salt.
- After the rice is cooked, place it in the flattest bowl you have and pour the sushi rice mixture over the rice using the rice paddle as a slide (a technique I learned from Nami of the great Japanese blog Just One Cookbook). Use a rice paddle or stiff spatula to incorporate the vinegar mixture, using a mixing and chopping motion.
To assemble the bowl:
- To prepare the fish, place the pieces of salmon in a mixing bowl and add a tablespoon or two of the shoyu sauce and some fresh sliced green onions and mix well.
- Grab the pickled red onions and Everything Bagel seasoning you prepared ahead of time and all the other vegetable ingredients - the edamame, corn, avocado, cucumbers and any extra green onion.
- To put the bowls together, place rice in the bowl then add a nice serving of the salmon and all the other elements as haphazardly or artistically as you’d like! Top with some more bagel seasoning and shoyu sauce as desired. If you have furikake, you could use some of that as well. Grab some chopsticks and enjoy!
Notes
- Almost all of the elements of this bowl can be prepped ahead - the pickled red onions, the everything bagel seasoning, the shoyu sauce, even the sushi rice can be made a few hours or a day ahead.
- Have fun with the ingredients - change the base, add more spice, use different or more vegetables - make this your own!
- If you are making sushi rice - be sure you use Japanese short grain rice. Otherwise, it's ok to switch to a different rice or grain for the base.
Nutrition
Calories: 579kcalCarbohydrates: 101gProtein: 21gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 1397mgPotassium: 516mgFiber: 6gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 173IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Enjoyed this post?
Sign up for my email list.
Hi! I'm Beth
Cookbook author, cooking teacher, preserved lemon lover. My family is a mix of Jewish, Hawaiian and Korean heritage. My virtual multicultural kitchen is always open.
Leave a Reply