Poké Bake (with Ahi Tuna)

If you love sushi you will love Poké Bake! This is one of my favorite takes on the famous Ahi Poke: A baked, deconstructed sushi roll layered with sushi rice, seasoned ahi tuna, and poke sauce.

Once my husband tried this version of Poke he started asking for it every week. I’ve created a monster! Hahaha!

Sim has been obsessed with Poke since I took him home to Hawaii a couple years ago. We ate poke bowls in Hanalei town on the way to Ke’e beach, poke bowls at the mall in Poipu, and we had ahi poke salad and nachos at Kalapaki Joes. All day erry day!

I love Poke Bake because its so easy to prepare, and its a full meal in one pan! It has all the flavors of sushi, and so much more. If you want a raw Poké dish, try Ahi Poké Wontons.

What is Poke Bake?

Poke Bake is a layered dish of sushi rice, fish, and sauce, that is topped with seasonings and baked until just hot.

Sushi rice makes the bottom layer, and then we top that with ahi poke(chunks of tuna marinated in soy sauce), and pour over homemade poke sauce! I like to top it all off with some furikake seasoning to finish(furikake is a seaweed and sesame seed topping).

Its very easy to prepare and you can customize it to your liking: cook for a short time for raw fish, and cook for if you want fish that is fully cooked.

How to Prepare Poke Bake

For a successful poke bake, prep all the ingredients first. 

1. Cook your sushi rice. I use an electric rice cooker similar to this one(on Amazon).
2. While the rice is cooking, marinate the tuna chunks for ahi poke
3. Prepare the island sauce 
4. Prepare the furikake seasoning, if using 
5. Assemble the Poke Bake in a pan
6. Bake and Eat!

Can you use frozen ahi tuna for Poke Bake?

Yes, you can use frozen ahi tuna for making poke bake! Because this dish is cooked, the fish does not need to be sashimi grade or sushi grade tuna.

However, when buying tuna, you should always look for the reddest fish. Fish that is dull or brown in color is not fresh, or freshly frozen. 

The ideal tuna steak should be deep red or purple with a bit of a shine to it.

Ahi Poke Layer 

The ahi poke layer is the most important part of this dish! The fish is seasoned in a perfect mix of salty and umami, and when baked, the flavors from the sauce drip down into the rice to create a creamy, tasty finish. 

For the poke you will need:

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil 
• ½ Tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• ¼ tsp chili oil 
• ¼ cup purple onion, sliced
• ¼ cup green onion, thinly sliced

Poke Sauce

The sauce makes this dish creamy and so delicious! You will need mayo, mustard, soy sauce, and lemon juice.

Just stir to combine! This can be made up to a week in advance.

I call this sauce Island Sauce and use it all the time in my kitchen. It’s great for topping Homemade Bao Buns and Pulled Chicken Won Tons.

Furikake Seasoning

To finish the poke bake with a burst of island flavor we use a generous sprinkling of furikake seasoning. In the islands this condiment is served at every grocery store and mini market. It’s extremely popular, and for good reason. It makes everything taste better!

For a quick homemade Furikake add these ingredients to a blender or food processor:

• 3 nori seaweed sheets, cut into pieces
• 1 Tbsp dried onion flakes
• ½ tsp coarse salt 

Pulse until the seaweed is chopped into small pieces, Then add:

• 2 ½ Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1 Tbsp black sesame seeds
• ½ tsp red chili flakes
• ½ tsp sugar

Store in the cupboard in an airtight glass container. 

We hope you love this Poke Bake! If you try it, please leave a star review and helpful comment below!

Try more Hawaiian Recipes:

Lava Chicken Sliders:

Crispy Chicken Katsu with Maple Bourbon Glaze

Poke Bake

Estee

A layered sushi style dish with sushi rice, ahi poke, creamy island sauce, and toppings. Baked and delicious!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

• 400 gram sashimi grade ahi tuna
• 2-3 cups ready made sushi rice prepare rice according to package instructions
• furikake seasoning, to serve (see post for homemade recipe)
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• ½ Tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• ¼ tsp chili oil
• ¼ cup purple onion sliced
• ¼ cup green onion thinly sliced

Island Sauce

• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1/2 TBSP mustard
• 1/2 TBSP soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

 

• Slice tuna into small bite-sized cubes. Try to make all the cubes the same size.
• Add to a large bowl and pour over soy sauce, sesame oil, canola oil, toasted sesame seeds, and chili oil, if desired. Chili oil can be very spicy, but we love the extra flavor! You can substitute it with fresh chopped chilies.
• Thinly slice the purple onion green onion and add to the bowl. Toss well. Cover and refrigerate- let the poké marinate for 15-30 minutes.

Island sauce

• Add all ingredients to a small bowl and whisk with a fork until everything is well combined. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
• Preheat oven to 375f/ 180c.
• Get out a medium sized casserole dish(or another oven safe rectangle baking dish).
• Spread out the ready made sushi rice in the bottom of the dish. Add the poké on top of the rice in an even layer, and pour over all of the island sauce, covering the entire top of the fish. Place in the oven, uncovered, for 5-7 minutes, until the top of the sauce starts to caramelize.
• Remove from the oven, top with a sprinkle of furikake seasoning, and enjoy!