Veggie bowls with wasabi mayo

A vegetarian variation on a Hawaiian poke bowl. Photo: Charlotte Graham-McLay

While living in Hong Kong, I first came across what was called a poke (POH-keh) bowl at a hole-in-the-wall food place, and it quickly became a favourite. It was based on the concept of poke, a Hawaiian dish involving raw fish chunks (often tuna) over rice, with umami sauces. Since I don't include raw fish in mine, it felt wrong to call it poke! But the combination of brown rice, a couple of veggies, a protein, and various garnishes, topped with a generous swirl of wasabi mayonnaise, has become a once-a-week fixture in our home dinners, and leftovers are eaten cold from the fridge the next day for lunch. The list of topping ideas is almost endless, and the dish can be made vegan if you use vegan mayonnaise.

Serves 4

Main bowl ingredients

Oil for roasting.
Salt.
1 and a 1/3 cups of brown rice (you can also use basmati rice, quinoa, or noodles if preferred).
One cup of frozen, shelled edamame (or other protein; a block of extra-firm tofu; raw tuna if you eat meat, or fried egg cut into strips).
1.2 kg of chopped vegetables: we used parsnip and courgettes (carrot, eggplant, kumara, cauliflower, broccoli, or any other seasonal vegetable that roasts well would also work).
Garnishes. Our go-tos are:
- Small handful of black sesame seeds.
- Generous handful of coriander.
- Sushi seaweed sheet, chopped into strips.
- Daikon radish or sauerkraut, from a jar.
- Lime wedges if you can afford them (I often can't).

Wasabi mayonnaise ingredients

Four large tablespoons full of full-fat mayonnaise (or if you'd like to make it vegan, prepare this vegan mayo in advance, using chickpea brine).
Teaspoon of wasabi paste.
A tablespoon of soy sauce (tamari if you're making it gluten free).
Teaspoon of lime juice (usually out of the bottle).

Method

Chop your roasting vegetables into small chunks, cover in oil, salt them, and put them on to roast in your usual way (mine is: oven at 225C, covered with foil for 25 minutes, and then uncovered for 20, or until browning).
Once vegetables go into the oven, immediately put brown rice on to boil in pot of water.
While it cooks, prepare the wasabi mayonnaise. Put the mayonnaise in a bowl, add wasabi and stir through vigorously. Add soy sauce and stir. Add lime juice and stir. Check the mix, and add more of any ingredient you feel is missing. Put sauce in fridge.
Prepare your protein: I steam frozen, shelled edamame in the microwave. Or whisk together three eggs, fry in a pan and cut into strips. Tofu can be squeezed between paper towels, cut into chunks, seasoned (I spray with Bragg's Liquid Aminos Seasoning Spray) and baked on a tray.
Once rice is cooked, mix coriander and black sesame seeds through it. Scoop into bowls, top with roasted veggies and protein, spoon wasabi mayo on top, and garnish with seaweed strips and Daikon radish. Serve with lime wedges.

This dish is inspired by a dish served at P.O.K.E. in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Charlotte Graham-McLay is a social journalist at RNZ.