This Salmon and Cucumber Poke Bowl is a vibrant, satisfying meal that comes together in minutes. It features fresh, sushi-grade salmon marinated in a savory-sweet soy glaze, paired with crisp cucumber and creamy avocado. You’ll love how easy and customizable this poke bowl is for a quick, healthy lunch or dinner.
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Why You’ll Love This Salmon and Cucumber Poke Bowl
- Fresh & vibrant: Every bite is a mix of cool cucumber, rich salmon, and creamy avocado.
- Quick to make: Ready in under 30 minutes, with just 15 minutes of marinating time.
- Highly customizable: Easily swap ingredients like edamame or rice to suit your taste.
- Light yet satisfying: A restaurant-quality meal that feels special without being heavy.
Ingredients & Tools
- 300 g fresh, sushi-grade salmon fillet, skin removed
- 3 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free)
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
- 1 small cucumber
- 1 ripe avocado
- 100 g cooked edamame beans
- 2 spring onions
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 200 g cooked sushi rice or quinoa
- Optional: pickled ginger, nori strips, sriracha mayo
Tools: A sharp chef’s knife, a medium mixing bowl, a small bowl for the marinade.
Notes: Use sushi-grade salmon for safety and flavor. Toasting the sesame seeds enhances their nutty aroma.
Nutrition (per serving)
| Calories: | 520 kcal |
| Protein: | 32 g |
| Fat: | 22 g |
| Carbs: | 48 g |
| Fiber: | 8 g |
Serves: 2 | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes (assuming rice is pre-cooked) | Total Time: 20 minutes
Before You Start: Tips & Ingredient Notes
- Source your salmon wisely. This is the most important step. You must use sushi-grade or sashimi-grade salmon, which has been frozen to a temperature that kills parasites, making it safe to eat raw. Ask your fishmonger.
- Keep everything cold. Work quickly and keep your salmon in the fridge until the last moment. A cold bowl helps too. This ensures the fish stays fresh and the texture remains perfect.
- Don’t marinate for too long. The acid in the rice vinegar will start to “cook” the salmon (like in a ceviche) if left for more than 20-30 minutes. 15 minutes is the sweet spot for flavor without altering the texture too much.
- Prep your toppings first. Have your cucumber sliced, avocado diced, and everything else ready to go before you even take the salmon out. This makes assembly a breeze and keeps the salmon cold.
How to Make Salmon and Cucumber Poke Bowl
Step 1: Prepare the Marinade. In your small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and honey. Give it a taste — it should be a balance of salty, slightly sweet, and tangy. Feel free to adjust to your liking. Set this aside while you prepare the salmon.
Step 2: Cube the Salmon. Take your very cold, sushi-grade salmon and pat it completely dry with a paper towel. Using your sharp knife, slice it into neat, 1-inch cubes. Try to make them as uniform as possible so they marinate evenly. Place the cubed salmon into your medium mixing bowl.
Step 3: Marinate the Salmon. Pour about two-thirds of your prepared marinade over the salmon cubes. Gently toss them with a spoon or your hands to ensure every piece is coated. Be gentle — you don’t want to break up the beautiful cubes. Now, pop the bowl into the refrigerator and let it marinate for exactly 15 minutes. Any longer and the texture can become chalky.
Step 4: Prep Your Toppings. While the salmon is chilling, get all your veggies ready. Slice the cucumber into thin half-moons, dice the avocado, thinly slice the spring onions, and have your edamame ready. If your rice isn’t cooked, get that going now — you’ll want it slightly warm or at room temperature for serving.
Step 5: Assemble the Bowls. This is the fun part! Divide your cooked rice between two bowls, creating a base on one side. Using a slotted spoon, lift the marinated salmon out of the bowl (leave the excess marinade behind) and arrange it artfully on the rice. You’ll notice the salmon has taken on a slightly darker, glossier look.
Step 6: Add the Veggies and Garnish. Now, arrange your cucumber, avocado, and edamame around the salmon. Drizzle the remaining one-third of the untouched marinade over the entire bowl — this acts as your extra sauce. Finish with a generous sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and the sliced spring onions. Add any optional extras like nori strips or a dollop of spicy mayo right now.
Step 7: Serve Immediately. The trick is to serve the bowls right away while everything is fresh and the temperatures are contrasting — the cool salmon with the slightly warm rice is just perfect. Grab a fork or chopsticks, mix it all up, and dig in!
Storage & Freshness Guide
- Fridge: Store components separately in airtight containers for up to 24 hours. The salmon will continue to “cook” in the marinade.
- Freezer: Not recommended, as the texture of the salmon and avocado will suffer.
- Reviving: Best enjoyed fresh. If needed, gently bring to cool room temperature before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Complementary Dishes
- A simple miso soup — its warm, savory umami flavor is the perfect cozy start to this fresh meal.
- Seaweed salad — the briny, slippery texture and vibrant flavor add another layer of oceanic freshness to your spread.
- Steamed gyoza (dumplings) — a few pan-fried or steamed dumplings on the side make the meal feel like a true feast.
Drinks
- Iced green tea — its clean, slightly bitter notes cut through the richness of the salmon and avocado beautifully.
- A crisp lager or pilsner — the carbonation and light hop character are a classic pairing that cleanses the palate between bites.
- Dry sake — for an authentic experience, a slightly chilled junmai sake enhances the delicate flavors of the fish.
Something Sweet
- Mochi ice cream — these little chewy, icy pockets, especially green tea or red bean flavor, are a light and delightful finish.
- A bowl of fresh mango and lychee — the tropical sweetness is a refreshing contrast after the savory, umami-heavy bowl.
- Black sesame ice cream — it’s nutty, not too sweet, and feels like a sophisticated end to the meal.
Top Mistakes to Avoid
- Mistake: Using the wrong grade of salmon. This isn’t just about taste — it’s a food safety issue. Regular salmon fillets from the fresh counter are not intended to be eaten raw.
- Mistake: Over-marinating the fish. I’ve messed this up before too, thinking longer = more flavor. But the acid in the marinade will quickly change the salmon’s texture from silky to tough and grainy.
- Mistake: Dicing the salmon into uneven pieces. If some pieces are much smaller than others, the small ones will become over-marinated and mushy while the big ones remain bland.
- Mistake: Adding the marinade liquid to the assembled bowl. The liquid the salmon marinated in can be watery and strong. Always use the reserved, fresh marinade for drizzling at the end.
Expert Tips
- Tip: Partially freeze your salmon. Pop the salmon in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before cubing. This firms it up just enough to make clean, sharp cuts much easier.
- Tip: Season your rice. While your rice is still warm, gently fold in a splash of rice vinegar and a pinch of sugar and salt. This gives it that authentic sushi rice flavor that elevates the whole bowl.
- Tip: Add a textural crunch. Right before serving, sprinkle on some crispy fried onions or shallots. The contrast between the soft fish and the crispy crunch is absolutely divine.
- Tip: Make it spicy. Whisk a teaspoon of sriracha or a dab of gochujang into the marinade for a gentle, building heat that complements the soy and sesame perfectly.
FAQs
Can I use cooked salmon instead?
Absolutely, you can! While the classic poke uses raw fish, you can certainly use cooked salmon. Flake some pre-cooked, cooled salmon (grilled or baked works well) and toss it with the marinade. The texture will be different — more flaky than buttery — but it will still be delicious. Just note that the marinade won’t penetrate in the same way, so you might want to be a bit more generous with it.
How long will the leftovers keep?
This is a dish best eaten immediately. However, if you must save it, store the components separately in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 24 hours. The salmon will continue to “cook” in the marinade and the avocado will brown, so it won’t be as perfect as day one, but it’s still tasty. I don’t recommend freezing it.
What other fish can I use?
Any sushi-grade tuna or yellowtail (hamachi) would be a fantastic substitute. The method remains exactly the same. Just ensure the fish is of the same high quality, safe-for-raw-consumption standard as the salmon.
My marinade is too salty. How can I fix it?
No worries, this happens! You can balance it out by adding a little more honey for sweetness or a squeeze of fresh lime or lemon juice for acidity. If it’s way too far gone, just make a second, smaller batch of marinade without any soy sauce (just vinegar, oil, and honey) and blend the two together.
Is there a substitute for sesame oil?
Sesame oil provides a very distinct, nutty flavor that’s hard to replicate. If you absolutely must, a neutral oil like avocado or grapeseed oil will work, but you’ll lose that signature aroma. To compensate, you could add a bit more toasted sesame seeds as a garnish for that nutty crunch.
Salmon And Cucumber Poke Bowl
Make a fresh and easy Salmon and Cucumber Poke Bowl at home in just 20 minutes. Perfect for a healthy, no-cook lunch or dinner. Get the simple recipe now!
Ingredients
For the marinade and salmon:
-
300 g fresh, sushi-grade salmon fillet (skin removed)
-
3 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free)
-
1 tbsp rice vinegar
-
1 tsp sesame oil
-
1 tsp honey or maple syrup
For the toppings and base:
-
1 small cucumber
-
1 ripe avocado
-
100 g cooked edamame beans
-
2 spring onions
-
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
-
200 g cooked sushi rice or quinoa
-
Optional (pickled ginger, nori strips, sriracha mayo)
Instructions
-
Prepare the Marinade. In your small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and honey. Give it a taste — it should be a balance of salty, slightly sweet, and tangy. Feel free to adjust to your liking. Set this aside while you prepare the salmon.01
-
Cube the Salmon. Take your very cold, sushi-grade salmon and pat it completely dry with a paper towel. Using your sharp knife, slice it into neat, 1-inch cubes. Try to make them as uniform as possible so they marinate evenly. Place the cubed salmon into your medium mixing bowl.02
-
Marinate the Salmon. Pour about two-thirds of your prepared marinade over the salmon cubes. Gently toss them with a spoon or your hands to ensure every piece is coated. Be gentle — you don’t want to break up the beautiful cubes. Now, pop the bowl into the refrigerator and let it marinate for exactly 15 minutes. Any longer and the texture can become chalky.03
-
Prep Your Toppings. While the salmon is chilling, get all your veggies ready. Slice the cucumber into thin half-moons, dice the avocado, thinly slice the spring onions, and have your edamame ready. If your rice isn't cooked, get that going now — you'll want it slightly warm or at room temperature for serving.04
-
Assemble the Bowls. This is the fun part! Divide your cooked rice between two bowls, creating a base on one side. Using a slotted spoon, lift the marinated salmon out of the bowl (leave the excess marinade behind) and arrange it artfully on the rice. You’ll notice the salmon has taken on a slightly darker, glossier look.05
-
Add the Veggies and Garnish. Now, arrange your cucumber, avocado, and edamame around the salmon. Drizzle the remaining one-third of the untouched marinade over the entire bowl — this acts as your extra sauce. Finish with a generous sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and the sliced spring onions. Add any optional extras like nori strips or a dollop of spicy mayo right now.06
-
Serve Immediately. The trick is to serve the bowls right away while everything is fresh and the temperatures are contrasting — the cool salmon with the slightly warm rice is just perfect. Grab a fork or chopsticks, mix it all up, and dig in!07
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