This no-cook cured salmon bowl takes inspiration from fresh Hawaiian poke bowls and sashimi donburi. Poke means “to cut crossways into pieces” in Hawaiian. The dish itself was prepared by Hawaiians long before the arrival of Westerners: Freshly caught fish was cut into cubes and combined with sea salt, seaweed, and candlenuts. Over time the dish evolved, with the introduction of soy and toasted sesame oil by Japanese and Chinese immigrants, and today you’ll find variations of the ancient dish served all over the world, often with contemporary additions.

　　My take on the dish combines cubes of sashimi-grade raw salmon or smoked salmon with a spicy marinade of Tabasco, sesame oil, and gochujang. The intensely flavored sauce cuts through the fattiness of the fish, all complemented by the freshness of avocado and red onion served atop steamed rice, the warm grains a pleasing contrast to the chilled cubes of salmon and room- temperature veggies.

　　This recipe was excerpted from ‘A Splash of Soy' by Lara Lee, one of our favorite cookbooks of 2023. Buy the full book on Amazon. Get more salmon recipes here →

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What you’ll need

　　Chevron

　　Chevron

　　Toasted Sesame Oil

　　$8 At Amazon

　　Toasted Sesame Seeds

　　$11 At Amazon

　　Gochujang

　　$10 At Amazon

　　

Ingredients

For the salmon

10 oz. sashimi-grade salmon, cut into 3⁄4" pieces, or smoked salmon cut into 3⁄4" strips

　　1 Tbsp. Tabasco

　　1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil

　　3⁄4 tsp. gochujang paste

　　1 tsp. sesame seeds, preferably toasted

　　

For the poké bowl

1⁄2 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

　　Flaky sea salt, to taste

　　1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp soy sauce, plus more 

　　2 tsp. toasted sesame oil, plus more 

　　1⁄2 tsp granulated sugar

　　3 oz. baby spinach (about 3½ cups)

　　3¼ cups cooked white rice 

　　1 avocado, cut into ¾" cubes 

　　2 Tbsp. crumbled crispy seaweed (such as nori sheets or seaweed flakes)

　　1 tsp. sesame seeds, preferably toasted shichimi togarashi, to taste (optional)

　　Tabasco, to taste

　　

Step 1

Mix the cubes of salmon with the Tabasco, sesame oil, gochujang, and sesame seeds. Let stand for 5 minutes to cure before serving.

　　

Step 2

Put red onion in a small bowl and season with flaky sea salt; let stand to soften the rawness of the onion while you prepare the other ingredients.

　　

Step 3

Stir the soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar in a small bowl until the sugar has dissolved; set aside.

　　

Step 4

Put spinach in a heatproof bowl; bring a kettle to boil, then pour boiling water over spinach. Let wilt for 2 minutes, then drain.

　　

Step 5

Divide cooked rice between two serving bowls. Arrange cured salmon on one side of the bowl, then arrange avocado, blanched spinach, red onion, and seaweed. Garnish with the sesame seeds and shichimi togarashi, if using.

　　

Step 6

Drizzle the soy-sesame sauce over the two bowls to serve. Serve with soy sauce, Tabasco, and sesame oil on the side for extra drizzling.

　　Excerpted from A Splash of Soy by Lara Lee. Text © Lara Lee, 2023. Photos © Louise Hagger, 2023. Reprinted by permission of Bloomsbury USA. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bloomsbury.