EASY VEGAN POKE BOWL WITH CHICKPEAS

This is a No Tofu Vegan Poke Bowl. It's high protein and features chickpeas cooked in delicious sriracha and tamari sauce marinade and paired with rice vermicelli, cucumber, carrots, edamame, spring onions, and avocado. An amazingly easy and quick vegan dinner is served.

What is a Poke Bowl?  

The poke bowl pronounced as (poh-key) is one of the main dishes of Native Hawaiian cuisine. It's a new trend in town, bursting with flavors, colors, and texture. Traditionally it is made up of raw tuna or salmon on a bed of rice topped with crunchy vegetables and some spicy sauces. For vegan or vegetarian versions, tofu, chickpeas or any other plant-based protein sources are used. 

What to put in a poke bowl?  

There is no hard and fast rule for making a poke bowl. We are skipping traditional raw fish and making a vegan version, So for produce or grain, we can either stick with traditional ingredients or can go wild and put anything we love to eat in our poke bowl. There are four main components of a poke bowl. These are   

Grain:   

Add some grain like white rice, brown rice, wild rice, rice noodles, soba noodles, Quinoa. I will encourage you to play around with all the components.  

Protein:  

For adding proteins in vegan or vegetarian versions, we can use chickpeas, tofu, and Tempeh. Watermelon and beetroots are not protein but also used as the main component in vegan poke bowls. You can incorporate quinoa with them to add a protein source in your poke bowl.  

Produce:   

Cucumber, carrots, beetroot, avocado, edamame, reddish, kale, spinach, pineapple, mango, watermelon, spring onions, pomegranate, corn or use anything or everything you like from all fruits to the veggies.  

Sauce:  

Tamari, Sriracha, peanut butter, hot sauce, Rice wine vinegar, cilantro, lime, garlic, ginger are some ingredients you can use to spice up your poke bowl game.  

How to Make an Easy Vegan Poke Bowl?  

The best part about the poke bowl is there is very little or no cooking involved in making this lavish meal. Mine I prepared with some cooked chickpeas on a bed of rice noodles and top it with crunchy and fresh cucumber and carrot ribbons, spring onions, avocado, and edamame beans. Last but not least added some sriracha sauce on top to spice it up. There is no hard and fast rule, you can simply play around with different toppings. Start with 

Chickpeas Marinade:  

Marinade chickpeas in Aquafaba, Tamari sauce, Sriracha sauce, spring onion, and sesame seeds. Let it sit for 2 to 3 hours. The more time you let them sit, the more it will add flavor to them.  

Once marination is done, stir fry these chickpeas in some oil and then add corn starch mixed in water and cook for another minute or two. It will thicken the sauce.   

Rice Vermicelli Noodles:  

Instead of rice, I am going with rice vermicelli noodles. They are quite easier to cook. Simple soak rice noodles in hot water for two to three minutes and drain. VOILA, it's all done.  

Prepare the produce:  

While chickpeas are marinating, prep veggies, sliced avocado, chop spring onions and use a vegetable peeler to carefully slice the cucumber and carrots lengthways into long, thin ribbons.   

Assemble:   

Assemble this delicious and easy vegan poke bowl by simply throwing rice noodles as a base. Top it with prepare chickpeas, veggies and sprinkle some sesame seeds and serve with sriracha and tamari sauce.   

Can you Refrigerate a Poke Bowl?  

When it comes to poke bowl, it is the most frequently asked question that, Can we refrigerate a poke bowl?

This is basically because of the raw fish in traditional poke bowls. As this is a vegan version and the main source of protein are chickpeas that are well cooked, there is no point in worrying. You can simply keep them refrigerated for up to a week in an airtight container. It is better if you throw extra sauce just before serving as if you refrigerate it with some sauce on top, it may discolor or wilt your poke bowl veggies.   

Can you Reheat a Poke Bowl?  

Yes, you can reheat this poke bowl without any problems and it also goes very well when served cold.  

I hope you will love this vegan poke bowl as much as I do! It’s:  

• Quick and Easy to Make  
• Little or no cooking involved  
• Vibrant and Fresh  
• Delicious  
• A very Healthy Meal.

If you try this recipe, leave a comment and show some love by rating it in stars. Do not forget to take a picture and tag us @getsetvegan on Instagram. We would love to see this.