Ahi Tuna Poke Stack – Sticky sushi rice, topped with pickled onions, diced avocado, and fresh ahi tuna tossed in a poke sauce
Man, I cannot believe my little baby girl it almost 10 months old! I can’t help but reflect on how far we’ve all come and how much our life has changed for the better. Sometimes, I reflect on the pregnancy and how crazy it is to think about how I grew this little angel inside me. Insane!
The hardest part about pregnancy for me was having to eliminate some of my favorite foods from my diet. One of the foods I missed the most was sushi and ahi tuna. There’s a place near my work that serves the most incredible ahi tuna poke bowls and I hated that I couldn’t enjoy them for 9 1/2 months.
Now that I am free to eat all the raw fish that I want, I indulge in poke bowls at least a few times a month. I love how filling they are and that they’re pretty healthy – as long as I add tons of veggies to my bowl.
Instead of relying on my favorite poke bowl spot to get my ahi tuna fix, I thought I’d try to recreate a version of it at home. And so my Ahi Tuna Poke Stack was born!
Prepping the ingredients
There is not much cooking involved in this recipe, however, there is some time involved in prepping everything. First, you’ll start by pickling the red onion. It only takes about an hour of sitting in the pickling liquid for these onions to get the perfect flavor.
Next, you’ll need to start cooking the sushi rice. Sushi rice is simply a short grain rice cooked with rice vinegar. I just used a recipe on the bag of the sushi rice that I purchased and put it in my rice cooker.
Finally, you’ll prepare the ahi tuna. You need to buy tuna steaks and then cut them into small cubes. Next, those cubes are tossed in a poke sauce made with rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds. Ahi tuna is yummy on its own but I love it most tossed in a poke sauce to give it a little more flavor.
How these stacks are made
I love how elegant stacked food can look when I ordered it at restaurants. Because they look so pretty, I always assumed stacked food would be so difficult to recreate at home. But I found that it’s actually so simple with the right tools!
I used this ring that helps keep the food neatly stacked and also has a lid that is used to push the food out as you slip the ring off. I love how easy it is to use! You just place it in the middle of the serving plate, start stacking your food neatly in layers, and then lift the ring up to present the gorgeous, free-standing tower of delicious food.
Tips & Tricks
Here are a few tricks to ensure your ahi tuna poke stacks come out perfectly:
- You will not be able to get the stacks to look pretty without a ring to keep everything neat. However, you can make mini poke bowls using the same ingredients if you don’t want to buy the tool.
- To drizzle the spicy mayo in a pretty pattern on top of the ahi tuna, I used a little squeeze bottle.
- Since the tuna will not be cooked, it’s so important that you buy it from a reputable vendor and get the best quality fish available to you. I bought mine from Whole Foods and it was great.
That’s all there is to it! I’ve been in such a groove with making Asian food so don’t be surprised if you see more of them on the blog soon!
Ahi Tuna Poke Stack
Ingredients
For the ahi tuna poke stack:
- 1/2 large red onion
- 3/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 clove garlic halved
- poke sauce recipe below
- 1 lb raw tuna steaks cubed
- 3 cups sticky sushi rice cooked
- 3 medium avocados cubed
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
- black and white sesame seeds for garnish
For the poke sauce:
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 3/4 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- First, make the pickled onions. Slice the red onion into strips. Place in a mesh sieve. Set aside. Add 3 cups of water to a medium saucepan. Place on medium high heat to boil the water.
- Once the water is boiling, turn off heat. While over the sink, slowly pour hot water over sliced onions in mesh sieve. Place onions in medium mason jar. Add vinegar, salt, sugar, and garlic. Shake to combine ingredients. Place in fridge to sit for at least one hour.
- Whisk all the ingredients for the poke sauce. Add cubed raw tuna and toss to combine. Once the onions have pickled for at least an hour. remove from fridge to prepare for stack assembly.
- Using a round mold, prepare to stack you ingredients by placing mold in center of a plate. Scoop 1/2 cup rice and place into bottom of mold. Press down to pack the rice in firmly. Next, arrange sliced picked onions into one even layer. Then, add cubed avocado into an even layer. Finally, top with ahi tuna poke.
- Now that the stack is assembled, gently remove the mold by holding the top ingredients in place while you lift the mold up. Finish the stack with a spicy mayo by combining the sriracha with the mayo and drizzling over the stack. Top with black and while sesame seeds and serve!
Notes
Pin for later:
More recipes you’ll love:
Asian Steak Skewers
Chinese Hot & Sour Soup
Avocado & Charred Corn Salad
What a neat variation of sushi! Looks so yummy.
This looks like heaven on a plate!
I love ahi tuna! These stacks look perfect and delicious! I am going to make them next time we have dinner guests!
A dish full of flavors and an amazing platter of various and delicious ingredients. Love your idea to stacking food as well.
Now THIS is my kind of language! I will have to give this a try this weekend! Ahi Poke is my absolute favorite and this looks restaurant worthy!
I’ve never made sushi before and wouldn’t know where to begin. Thanks for this great recipe, you make it look so simple!
I’m not a sushi expert but this recipe looks perfect!! The colors and flavors are amazing!
Oh, my! This looks so amazing! I love that I can have one of my favorites made to order at home!
This looks so yummy and fresh! Great recipe!