Poke Bowl with Tuna

Rinse the rice well - this removes starch and will help your grains to not be gummy in the end. Bring the rice, fresh water, and a teaspoon of salt to a boil over high heat. Stir well, then turn down to lowest possible heat and cover tightly. Steam for 20 minutes, then stir it. If done, turn off heat and let sit. If there’s any water left, keep steaming for another 3 - 5 minutes.

Separately, in a small pot or microwavable dish, add 2 teaspoons of rice vinegar, ¼ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of sugar to a boil. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Reserve 1 teaspoon of this mixture for the spinach. When the rice is done, sprinkle the remaining vinegar mixture over the hot rice and gently stir to let all grains come in contact with the vinegar.

In a small bowl or mason jar, combine the soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of the rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Place in the fridge.

Keep tuna in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.

Slice the cold tuna into ½ inch or 1 inch cubes - totally up to your preference for eating and how it looks, but the larger cubes will take a little longer to marinate. Place in a bowl and pour the marinade over top, stir gently to coat and return to the fridge for between 5 - 20 minutes - depending on how much you want the tuna to “cook” and absorb the flavor.

In a large sauté pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat, then add the spinach and toss to wilt, adding spinach to the pan in batches as needed. When it’s about halfway wilted, add the reserved vinegar mixture and toss. Turn off the heat and remove spinach to a bowl; set aside.

Meanwhile, grate carrots on the wide holes of a box grater or with a food processor. Toss in a bowl with sesame seeds; set aside.

Slice both and set aside.

In a small bowl stir together the mayo and sriracha.

Assemble: In wide bowls, plate a mound of rice and gently pat it down to cover the bottom surface. Moving around the bowl, make little piles of spinach, chopped cucumber, shredded carrot, sliced avocado. Top with a pile of marinated tuna. Sprinkle with seeds; make a pile of pickled ginger, if using. Serve the sauce drizzled over top or on the side.

Serve immediately, leftover tuna is best within a day or it will get overly salty and turn brownish grey; it’s safe to eat if it hasn’t left the fridge but it’s too expensive to let it sit this long.