Occasionally, I make the mistake of asking Himself the question “What would you like for Dinner?”

I say,  Mistake, as he always comes up with some phantasmagorical answer. He mutters, well I really liked the pasta  dish you made last night, or a Stir Fry ( what does he mean by that?) or Steak and Kidney Pie or Pudding ( for one person, I don’t think so) and so yesterday, he said Liver and Onions. He really likes liver, especially Calves Liver, and so I thought I would indulge him. Well, it was not to be, I went to Whole Foods, who can always be relied upon to have good meat, but not a bit of Offal in sight. SO that threw me a bit, and I wandered into Marks and Spencers food hall as I needed Milk anyway.

Inspiration hit me, a Poké Bowl. I hear you ask, what on earth is a Poké Bowl. I first ate a Poké Bowl in The Ned, in the city of London. The building itself is worth a visit, it is part of the SoHo House group but was designed by Sir Edwin Luytens (NED) over 100 years ago. It is a hotel but has 8 restaurants one of which is KAIA, and that is where I ate a poké bowl.

Poké is Hawaiian to slice, or to cut crosswise, and is one of the main dishes of Hawaiian cuisine. It moved across to mainland USA ( probably California in the 1970’s) and was predominantly served using raw fish, usually Tuna and Hawaiian spices. As with everything else, the traditional food becomes mainstream and cooks started adding their own touches to this dish that around 2012 it became popular in the USA and by 2016, the number of restaurants serving Poké rose to over 700. Cooks now added chicken, shrimp, avocado, Ponzu sauce, teriyaki sauce, mushrooms, onions, coriander, carrots, peppers and noodles. There is even a three day “I Love Poké Festival!”

And so it was, in Marks and Spencers, I found my inspiration, egg, noodles, coriander and bean sprouts. This is the Ultimate, make up your own poké dinner. This is a rough guide.

•  egg noodles ( could use rice, vermicelli)
• Some chopped Spinach ( Kale or broccoli)
• sliced mushrooms (enoki, shiitake, chestnut )
• grated carrots ( raw beetroot, radishes)
• beansprouts
• sweet red pepper cut into strips
• crushed garlic
• small bunch of coriander, chopped
• spring  onions cut and sliced
• grated fresh ginger
• half an avocado per person, cut into slices
• edamame beans ( frozen, but defrosted)
• some chopped chillies if desired
• salt to taste
• Seaweed, dried ( Nori)
• sesame oil
• 1 Litre vegetable stock ( I used  Swiss vegetable Bouillon powder)
• fresh salmon, skin removed and cut into strips, (I used about 6 oz for 2 people)
• large raw shrimp ( I allowed 6 each)
• chicken breast  cut into strips  if using chicken

Start by making the stock, then

• Heat some sesame oil in a wok and sauté first the shrimp and then the fish  and then the chicken if using. Remove from pan and set aside.
• Add more oil and sauté the garlic and ginger, do not let it burn. then add the vegetables followed by the stock and then the noodles. The noodles only take a couple of minutes to cook so make sure you have your serving bowls ready
• Ladle the mixture into bowls adding the fish and/or shrimp and/or chicken divided equally between the bowls, garnish with the avocado slices
• And there you go, what could be easier, but totally fresh and having many of our fresh  vegetables in one go.

Not sure how authentic this is, but certainly tastes good and looks good, so much so that himself said after one bowl, “Please ( sir) can I have some more!”