Tuna Poke with Coconut Rice

How we make it.

1 pound ahi tuna steak, diced
1 English cucumber, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 avocado, diced
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 Tablespoons sesame seeds
Zest of one lime
1/2 cup broccoli microgreens

Coconut Rice:

1 cup jasmine rice, rinsed
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup water

In a medium-sized pot add coconut milk, water, salt, and sugar. Add rinsed rice and bring to a boil over high heat. Once it starts to boil, turn the heat to low and cook covered for 20 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook for 5 minutes then fluff with a fork and set aside.

To make tuna poke, dice tuna and add to a medium bowl. Add diced cucumber, minced jalapeno (seeds and ribs removed) and zest of a whole lime. Then juice the lime in a separate small bowl and add diced avocado there, tossing avocado in lime juice before adding that mixture to the tuna. Pour toasted sesame oil, soy sauce and sesame seeds over poke tuna mixture and stir gently to combine. Let sit for 15 minutes room temperature or refrigerated, depending on your preference. Then serve over  a bed of coconut rice topped with broccoli microgreens, more sesame seeds and soy sauce to taste.

Why we make it.

I love sushi but there's really only one place in town whose sushi I love. It's 20 minutes in a direction I don't usually go and always feels high maintenance to demand when there are five other sushi subpar spots along the way. The fact remains that even when I demand the best sushi I can find, there's never enough of the good stuff in ratio to the rice for me. I always want more ahi tuna. More avocado, more cucumber and soy. Less rice. We make these tuna poke bowls at home because they let us flip the script on the rice to fish ratio in a way that feels simply luxurious. Heaps of sesame slicked tuna, cucumber, hot jalapeno and soy-soaked avocado sit on a little bed of coconut rice. It's sushi, unfurled. Taken apart and put back together better. All the flavor, none of the seaweed, piles of the best parts. Light. Fresh. Not very expensive. Quick to make. That's why we make it.