Move aside sushi, the latest trend in the food world comes is poke! Served in a bowl, this Hawaiian dish is a mix of raw fish, avocado and rice topped off with slices of fruit and vegetables. Poke bowls have taken the world by storm and shops are popping up everywhere. We’re here to answer the all-important question: what wine should you pair with a poke bowl? We’ve been doing our research (the poke bowl delivery man is getting to know the iDealwine office), read on for the perfect wine paring solutions.

In need of some inspiration for dinner this evening? Here are two delicious poke bowl recipes with a wine pairing suggestion.

SAVOURY VERSION: poke bowl with marinated prawns (serves 4)

With this recipe we recommend opening a nice Alsatian Pinot Gris. After a few years in the cellar, this wine has a yellow robe and great aromatic complexity (think white flowers, yellow fruit, honey, forest floor and smoke). The mouth is silky, unctuous even but not without nervosity and freshness thanks to a beautiful acidity and minerality. These aromas and textures will be in harmony with those found in this recipe: the acidity of the wine will marry with the citrus flavours in the poke, the generous mouth feel will play beautifully against the avocado and the saline flavours against the prawns.

See all Pinot Gris currently on sale

Ingredients

• 16 to 20 large prawns
• 300g of sushi rice
• 1 grapefruit
• 1 large avocado
• ½ a cucumber
• ½ a lemon
• 2 spring onions
• 2 dessertspoons of rice vinegar
• 1 dessertspoon of sesame oil
• 1 dessert spoon of sesame seeds
• 1 dessertspoon of black sesame seeds
• Salt

Method

• Boil the sushi rice according to the instructions to obtain a lightly sticky rice.
• Add the salt and rice vinegar to the rice and leave to cool.
• Shell the prawns and leave them to marinade in the sesame oil and the juice of half a lemon.
• Peel the grapefruit then cut into thin slices.
• Cut the cucumber into thin slices.
• Cut the avocado into fine slices and then cover in lemon juice to stop them from browning
• Finely chop the spring onions.
• Assemble your poke bowl by placing the rice in first, then the fruit and vegetables round the edge and the prawns in the middle.
• Finally, sprinkle the spring onion and sesame seeds over the top.
• Enjoy!

SWEET VERSION : poke bowl with marinated salmon and mango (serves 4)

A recipe that mixes the sweet with the salty like this is also begging for an Alsatian white. But this time, we’re picking up a dry Gewurztraminer. The nose of this wine is typically floral with exotic fruit aromas that will marry well with the mango in this recipe. Dense and silky, it will sit well with the fat from the salmon and the creaminess of the avocado. Deeply aromatic and with a long finish thanks to the residual sugars, this wine will be a perfect match for the soy and honey sauce. Its liveliness will only enhance the freshness of this dish.

See all Gewurztraminer currently on sale

Ingredients

• 4 salmon fillets
• 1 lemon
• 4 teaspoons of sesame seeds
• 4 teaspoons of sweet soy sauce
• 4 carrots
• 2 avocados
• 2 mangos
• 1 cucumber
• 4 dessertspoons of honey
• 200g of rice
• 10 radishes

Method

Step 1 (to complete preferably the day before)

Prepare the salmon the day or evening before by cutting into 1cm cubes. Next, prepare your marinade by mixing together the juice of the lemon with the honey and the soy sauce. Coat the salmon in the sauce and let it marinade in the fridge over night (at least 12 hours), turning the fillets over once or twice so the sauce is ell soaked in.

Step 2

Boil the rice according to the cooking instructions and leave it to cool. Cut the radish, grate the carrots and slice the cucumber. Place the rice in the bowl and the raw vegetables on top. Then, slice the avocado and the mango and arrange them on top of the vegetables with the salmon. Bon appétit!

Now it’s up to you! We hope you’ll enjoy these recipes. Why not share your poke bowl pairing with us on social media with the #idealwinepairing, we’d love to see them!