This poke bowl replaces the usual cured fish component with deliciously marinated local watermelon!
The watermelon soaks up all the marinade while maintaining it's texture and truly is an amazing vegan substitute to fish.
The marinade features our local organic miso and ginger and the bowl is made using our local quinoa as the base topped with local edamame, radishes, cucumber, bell pepper, green onion and cilantro from our network of local farmer and producers!
Light, refreshing and healthy!
About Our Farmers
Top Tomato Farm
The de Filippis family has been farming for over 55 years. They began with a focus on cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower but have experimented with many varieties in the years since!
Top Tomato now has one of the widest ranges of products available of the farms we work with. One of their most innovative crops was learning how to successfully grow artichokes in the Canadian climate – no easy feat!
This recipe uses their beautiful baby watermelon as the "tuna" for this vegan poke bowl!
Ying Ying Soyfood
Ying Ying Soyfood is a small family-owned and operated artisan tofu producer that has been proudly serving Canadians with the cleanest and best tasting tofu products since 2001.
Ying Ying Soyfood uses no chemical additives to reflect their belief that food needs to be pure and clean. They also only use Certified Organic, Non-GMO soybeans grown in Ontario.
Ying Ying Soyfood also makes organic miso paste and black bean sauce. Both have incredible flavour and the miso paste is used in the marinade for the watermelon for this recipe.
Fisherville Greenhouses
Our incredible fresh ginger used in this recipe is sourced from Fisherville's finest, Fisherville Greenhouses!
Non-certified organic. Fisherville is deeply committed to sustainability, growing most of their products using organic methods, using only bio controls (beneficial insect populations) and organic sprays.
Cindy and Ron Mueller have farming in their blood, having both grown up on family farms. After earning their respective masters degrees in horticulture, they purchased their very first farm - a half acre greenhouse operation in Fisherville, Ontario.
In the early days, they grew primarily grape tomatoes, but have branched out and now grow a variety of greens, herbs and vegetables.
In addition to distributing through 100km Foods, they also run a CSA program.
St. David's Hydroponics
Our bell peppers used in this recipe were sourced from St. David's Hydroponics.
St. David's Hydroponics is a huge hydroponic facility, originally started by three Dutch farmers who immigrated to Canada. They exceed the Ministry of Environment's sustainability requirements and operated in a closed system greenhouse.
St. Davids is one of the bigger operations we work with – during peak season they employ a staff of a hundred.
St. David’s prioritizes low carbon impact innovations. They use an integrated pest management system, grow plants in discarded coconut fibre, and recycle their own water.
The greenhouse system is a closed system. During the summer months, that means they’re operating at a net zero carbon footprint!
Zephyr Organics
The green onions, red radishes and cilantro used in this recipe were sourced from Zephyr Organics.
Zephyr Organics has been growing certified organic vegetables for 21 years, now on their third-generation family-owned farm.
Over 100 acres of certified organic vegetables, fruits and herbs are grown in their fields and greenhouses.
Zephyr relies on crop rotation, covering crops, companion planting and composting to respect the environment, protect biodiversity, minimize waste, and keep their soil nutrient rich.
Pristine Gourmet
Our Ontario edamame is sourced from Pristine Gourmet in Norfolk, ON.
Owned and operated by Jason Persall, Pristine Gourmet follows conventional growing practices. All products are non-GMO and made with local ingredients.
In addition to their edamame, they specialize in creating pure, clean, high quality oils like canola, soybean and sunflower from non-GMO seeds grown on their farm.
Quinta Quinoa
Our Ontario Quinoa is sourced from Quinta Superfoods. This quinoa is a Canadian-grown high nutrient, high quality quinoa. that is all natural (non-GMO).
Ontario's superior soil allow them to produce the only quinoa with 2-4 times the fibre, iron, magnesium and calcium over other brands!
Ingredients
For the Watermelon "Tuna"
- 1 x Top Tomato baby watermelon, skin and seeds removed and cut in to 1 cm cubes
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari (gluten free!)
- Juice of 1 lime (about 1 ½ tbsp)
- 1 tbsp Ying Ying Soyfood organic white miso
- 2 cm chunk of Fisherville's fresh ginger, finely grated
For Building the Bowl
- 1 cup Pristine Gourmet edamame, shelled
- 2-3 cups cooked Quinta quinoa
- 3 x Zephyr Organics spring onions finely sliced
- 3 x Zephyr Organics red radishes, thinly sliced
- 1 x Fisherville Greenhouses cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1 x St. David's bell pepper, thinly sliced
- chopped Zephyr Organics cilantro for garnish
Method
"Cure" Your Watermelon
Cut your watermelon into 1 cm cubes and remove the black seeds. Place the cubed watermelon in a medium bowl and start preparing your marinade to "cure" your watermelon.
In a blender, add your rice vinegar, sesame oil, grated ginger, soy sauce or tamari, lime juice, organic miso paste and blend until smooth.
Pour the marinade over the watermelon and stir gently with a spoon to ensure the marinade covers all the watermelon. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or use a tupperware with a lid to minimize waste) and place it in the fridge to marinade for at least an hour and up to 3 hours. Gently stir one or twice during this time.
Cook Your Quinoa
Prepare your Ontario Quinta quinoa as per the cooking instructions on the package. Take 1 cup of quinoa and rinse it under water in a fine mesh strainer. Rinsing quinoa is an important step as it removes the quinoa's natural coating, called saponin, which can make it taste bitter or soapy.
Once rinsed, combine 1 cup of quinoa with 1 and 1/4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and allow to simmer covered for 12-14 minutes.
Flawless cook every time!
Cook Your Edamame
Take 1 cup of your shelled edamame and drop them in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Strain and set aside.
Assemble Your Bowl
Once your watermelon is done curing, it's time to assemble your bowl!
Spoon about a cup of quinoa in to a bowl. Add your edamame, radishes, cucumber, green onions, and bell pepper to the bowl. Next, add few heaping spoonfuls of your marinated watermelon.
Sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro and black or white sesame seeds (optional).
Finish by drizzling more of the delicious marinade.
Did You Try This Recipe?
If so, we'd love to see your finished product of your! Share a photo of your Watermelon Poke Bowl and tag us on Instagram @themarketat100kmfood!
