This Root Vegetable Makes For Surprisingly Good Vegan Poke

Filled with colorful, nutrient-rich ingredients, poke bowls are both great to look at and great for you. One of the most striking parts of the bowls are the brightly-hued chunks of salmon or ahi tuna that fill them up. In vegan poke bowls, they may be swapped out for tofu, but beets are a worthy replacement that's just as aesthetically pleasing and refreshing.

The deep red vegetables work as the perfect swap to whip up a vegan version of an ahi tuna poke bowl. Aside from their similarity in color, beets bring their fair share of flavor. While beets certainly taste different than tuna, the vegetable is arguably more delicious. Its sweetness takes on a richer, earthier note in comparison to tuna's mildness. Plus, beets mesh well with every ingredient you can typically find in a poke bowl. Be it carrots and cucumbers or edamame and red chili peppers, the veggie complements them all.

Although poke bowls typically rely on raw fish, you'll need to cook the beets beforehand. After peeling them and cutting them into cubes, steam them in water until they're tender. Coat them in seasonings of your choice and assemble the bowl, allowing it to cool in the fridge before eating it. If you don't want to go through prepping and cooking the beets yourself, you can use canned beets instead. You'll just need to cut them into smaller sizes before putting the poke bowl together.

If you want to add more flavor to beets for poke bowls, start with the water you steam them in. Add in some rice vinegar to temper the beets' bitterness and some salt and pepper for more flavor. After it's cooked, toss it in a marinade made for poke bowls. In our ahi tuna poke bowl recipe, we use soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar for an umami-forward, tangy bite that works well with beets, too. You can also add a squeeze of honey for extra sweetness and swap out the soy sauce for tamari or miso paste.

For the tangy taste to stand out more, use pickled beets to assemble your poke bowl. For a balance of sweet and sour, pickle the veggies with rice wine vinegar, as well as some salt, pepper, and chili peppers. The once-hard beets soften up when pickled, taking on a tender consistency that completes your poke bowl. Pair the pickled beets with seaweed, avocado, carrots, green onions, and sesame seeds.

Using some pickled beets is a great way to add diversity of flavor, but you can also utilize different types of beets, as well. Rather than just using the red ones, throw in purple, white, and golden beets, too. They vary in earthiness and sweetness, all with a delectable flavor that will elevate your poke bowl. Pickle half of them and toss the rest in a savory-sweet marinade for a unique poke bowl.