Watermelon “Poke” Tacos

A creative take on poke appetizer using marinated watermelon. It’s a summertime crowd-pleaser.

Note: This recipe requires 5 hours of time for marinating and chilling ingredients…it is worth the wait :)

designed as an appetizer  // serves 4 people

THE INGREDIENTS:

• 1 small watermelon (~3lbs or so)
• 3 limes
• ⅓ cup rice vinegar
• 3 Tbsp cup sesame oil
• ⅓ cup soy sauce
• large jicama
• 2 small jalapeño
• 2 medium avocados
• cilantro
• green onion
• garlic powder
• salt

THE RECIPE:

STEP ONE - Prep the Watermelon “Poke”

Ingredients:
• 1 small watermelon (~3lbs or so)
• 2 limes
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp. Sesame Oil
• Pink Himalayan salt

1. Cut watermelon into big cubes, and lightly salt.

2. Make the marinade by mixing the juice of two limes, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil into a container with a sealable lid. Add the watermelon and gently shake to coat the watermelon pieces evenly. Place in the fridge for 4-5 hours to marinate.

3. After the watermelon has marinated, heat a large pan over medium heat. Remove the watermelon from the marinade and add it to the pan. You can discard the marinade. Cook watermelon, often tossing for 6-8 minutes or until watermelon is dried out and slightly caramelized.

4. Place the watermelon back into the container and chill for 1 hour.

5. Once chilled, cut the watermelon into small cubes for the tacos.

STEP TWO - Make the Guacamole

Ingredients:
• 2 medium avocados
• 1 Tbsp. Cilantro chopped
• 1 jalapeño
• 1 lime
• salt
• garlic powder

1. Finely chop your jalapeño (remove ribs and seeds if you don’t want heat).

2. Cut avocados, remove pits and scoop out the flesh into a medium bowl. Add jalapeño, chopped cilantro, the juice of the lime, a generous sprinkle of salt, and a sprinkle of garlic powder.

3. Slightly mash the avocado mixture until the desired consistency is reached. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt or acidity as needed.

STEP THREE - Taco Prep & Assembly

Ingredients:
• jicama root
• 1 small jalapeño
• green onion
• guacamole
• watermelon poke

* A mandolin will offer the best results for this dish assembly, but if you don’t have one, no worries, Simply use a sharp kitchen knife. Also you may find pre-sliced jicama taco shells in the produce section of Trader Joe’s.

1. Wash and peel jicama root. Using a mandolin for best results, carefully slice jicama into paper-thin rounds to create your taco shells. 

2. Wash the jalapeño, and using your mandolin again, slice into thin rounds.

3. Using a knife, thinly slice the green tops of the green onions.

4. To assemble the tacos, start with your jicama slices, add a tablespoon of guacamole, followed by a heaping tablespoon of the chilled watermelon. Top with a jalapeño slice and some green onion. Enjoy!

We highly recommend you enjoy this dish the the day of preparing.