Healthy Copycat Fishbowl Sesame Tofu and Salmon Bowl

Poke-style bowls are the ultimate feel-good lunch: cool, crunchy, colourful, and packed with the kind of fresh flavours that make you feel virtuous just looking at them. The catch is that salmon is one of the dearest proteins in the Australian supermarket, which is exactly why this copycat fishbowl salmon bowl pairs it with sesame-crusted tofu. You still get the rich, buttery salmon in every bowl — just in a sensible portion — while the crispy tofu bulks out the protein for a fraction of the cost.

As always, the honest framing: this is a homemade, inspired-by recreation. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Fishbowl, and I am not claiming to reproduce any of their actual proprietary recipes or sauces. It is my home-cook take on the sesame salmon bowl concept, engineered for Australian grocery prices and a realistic meal prep routine.

Why This Copycat Fishbowl Salmon Bowl Uses Tofu and Salmon Together

Salmon in Australia typically runs $30 to $40 per kilo at the fish counter, which makes an all-salmon poke bowl a $15-plus homemade lunch — barely cheaper than buying one. Tofu, by contrast, sits around $4 to $5 for a 300 g block. Pairing 100 g of salmon with 150 g of crispy sesame tofu per serve gives you the luxury salmon experience and a serious protein total while keeping the bowl under nine dollars. It is the kind of pragmatic compromise that makes healthy eating sustainable rather than aspirational.

The tofu needs proper treatment to earn its place. Pressed, cubed, tossed in cornflour and sesame seeds, then pan-fried until deeply golden, it turns into crunchy little nuggets with a nutty crust that stand up to the dressing without going soggy. Nobody is mistaking it for salmon, and nobody needs to — it is good in its own right, which is the whole point.

The dressing ties it together: soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, a touch of honey and grated ginger. It is the classic poke flavour profile — salty, nutty, bright — and it takes two minutes to whisk. Make it in a jar, keep it in the fridge, and it will elevate plain rice and veg all week long.

Ingredients You’ll Need (Makes 4 Serves)

Salmon is the big spend; everything else is modest. Prices are estimates based on typical Australian supermarket and fishmonger prices. If salmon is over $35 a kilo, check the budget options in the swaps section.

How to Make It

Rice on first, tofu second, salmon sliced last so it spends minimal time out of the fridge. The whole build takes about 40 minutes.

Crisp the sesame tofu

1. Press the tofu for 15 minutes between clean tea towels with something heavy on top — a cast iron pan is ideal. Pressing is what separates crispy tofu from sad, steamy tofu, so do not skip it.
2. Cut into 2 cm cubes. Toss with the cornflour, 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds and a good pinch of salt until every cube is coated.
3. Pan-fry in a thin layer of neutral oil over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, turning every couple of minutes, until deeply golden and crisp on most sides. Drain on a wire rack, not paper towel, so the bottoms stay crunchy.

Cook the rice and prep the veg

1. Cook the sushi rice and season while warm with 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt, fanned or stirred gently to cool. Properly seasoned rice is the quiet foundation of every good poke bowl.
2. Blanch the edamame in boiling water for 2 minutes, then refresh under cold water. Halve the cucumbers lengthways and slice, julienne or grate the carrots, and finely slice the spring onions.
3. Whisk the dressing: 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon honey and 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger.

Slice the salmon and assemble

1. With a sharp knife, slice the salmon against the grain into pieces about 1 cm thick. If you are not confident about the freshness for raw eating, sear the slices quickly or use the cooked-salmon option below.
2. Divide the seasoned rice between four wide bowls. Arrange the salmon, sesame tofu, edamame, cucumber and carrot in sections over the top.
3. Add pickled ginger, scatter with spring onions and the remaining sesame seeds, and drizzle generously with the sesame-soy dressing. Serve immediately.

Cost Breakdown: Salmon Luxury at Under $9 a Serve

A bought poke bowl with salmon easily costs $17 to $20 AUD. This version lands under nine dollars by letting tofu do half the protein work — and honestly, the textural contrast between silky salmon and crunchy tofu makes it a better bowl, not just a cheaper one.

Nutrition Snapshot (Estimates Per Serve)

Rough estimates for one bowl as written. The combination of salmon, tofu and edamame delivers a strong protein and fibre profile for a no-cook-style lunch.

Meal Prep and Storage

Raw-fish meal prep needs care. The rice, tofu, edamame and vegetables can be prepped and refrigerated for up to 3 days, and the dressing keeps for a week in a sealed jar in the fridge. The salmon, however, should be sliced and added as close to eating as possible — ideally the same day you buy it, or within 24 hours kept at the coldest part of your fridge.

For a practical workweek version, prep four bases (rice, tofu, veg) on Sunday, keep the dressing in a jar, and slice the salmon fresh each morning — it takes two minutes. If even that feels like too much, cook the salmon: sear the slices for 60 seconds per side and the bowl becomes a 3-day fridge-stable prep with no raw-fish timing to manage.

Food safety basics apply throughout: keep everything refrigerated at or below 5°C, do not leave the assembled bowl at room temperature for more than 2 hours, and when in doubt about the salmon’s freshness, cook it. A seared salmon version of this bowl is still excellent.

Easy Swaps and Variations

On a tighter budget, go all-in on the tofu: double the sesame tofu and skip the salmon entirely, and the bowl drops to around $5 a serve (estimate) with roughly 22 g of protein (estimate). Tinned salmon — well drained and flaked — is another economical option that keeps the omega-rich fish in the mix.

Frozen salmon portions, bought on special and thawed overnight in the fridge, are often significantly cheaper per kilo than fresh and work perfectly here, especially if you are searing rather than serving raw. Ocean trout is a fine substitute when it is the cheaper fish on the day.

For extra crunch, add shredded red cabbage or a handful of roasted peanuts. If soy is off the table, coconut aminos make a reasonable swap in the dressing. And if raw fish is not your thing at all, the seared version with a little extra dressing is arguably even better — warm salmon against cool crunchy veg is a top-tier combination.

That is the poke playbook: seasoned rice, something rich, something crunchy, something pickled, and a dressing worth licking off the spoon. Restaurant bowl, home-kitchen price.