This teriyaki chicken poke bowl has all the vibrant flavours of summer wrapped up in a mix of colourful vegetables and fresh mango. Poke bowls can be mix-and-matched to suit the vegetables you have in the fridge, and the flavours you know and love. Unlike takeaway or store-bought versions loaded with sugar, this bowl uses a homemade teriyaki sauce that can be customised.
I've made a lot of rice bowls over the years, but poke bowls were always the ones that felt hard to meal prep properly. Either the sauce was too sweet, the chicken dried out, or everything turned into one soggy container by day two. This version came from trial and error - separating what needs reheating from what stays fresh, and building a teriyaki sauce that works just as well on day three as it does straight out of the pan.
TL;DR
- Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes
- Meal prep: It's got a balance of carbs, protein and lots of fresh toppings for colour
- Fridge storage: 4 days (store fresh toppings separately)
- Freezer storage: 3-6 months (rice and chicken only)
- Reheating: microwave chicken and rice together, add fresh ingredients after.
- Customise: Swap protein, adjust sweetness of sauce, change toppings seasonally.
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Why you'll love this recipe
Teriyaki. If you're like me and not-so-secretly obsessed with Teriyaki flavours, you'll love this poke bowl. Try using extra sauce with my Teriyaki beef and rice bowl.
Rice bowl base. Rice bowls are one of the most reliable meal prep formats because they reheat well and pair easily with different proteins like teriyaki tofu.
Summer-inspired. Mango, avocado, cucumber, and pickled red onion keep this bowl fresh and light - try my lemongrass rice bowl which has freshness, too!
Ingredients
Teriyaki sauce. I use a homemade teriyaki sauce because I can adjust the ingredients to my liking - but you can use a store-bought version for convenience if you prefer.
If you use a store-bought, I recommend checking the ingredients list and making sure you aren't getting one that's filled with lots of sugars and filler ingredients.
Chicken breast. Chicken breast is a lean protein option which I prefer in my poke bowl. You could also use some slow cooker shredded chicken breast and flavour it with the sauce.
Mango and avocado. These fruits both in-season during the summer months, but you can adjust depending on what is in season. I've included some options for inclusions below.
Pickled red onion. This is optional, but it adds a good tang. Plus (and I may be bias) but my homemade pickled red onion is the best.
Water & cornstarch. The mix of water and cornstarch when added to the teriyaki sauce ingredients thickens the sauce and allows it to stick to the chicken breast bites. If using homemade, you can add this to the chicken breast instead (I actually add the cornstarch anyway to help the tenderisation)
Please check the recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantity. See below for substitutions and variations.
Substitutions and variations
Chicken thigh. You can very easily substitute with chicken thighs instead of chicken breast, or even some leftover roast chicken for something easy.
Make it vegetarian. For a vegetarian poke bowl version, try my teriyaki tofu (essentially the same recipe, but with the different protein).
Spice it up. If you're a fan of a bit of heat, some chilli oil or even adding in some hot honey into the teriyaki would go wonderfully!
Grain. Rice is a usual suspect for a sushi bowl, rice bowl, or poke bowl (whatever you want to call it). If you're a fan of noodles, you can definitely make it teriyaki flavoured - I've even got an Asian chicken teriyaki stir fry recipe for you to try.
Mango. While I absolutely recommend mango because it is so delicious, it's also not available all year round. If you can't find mango (although, you could always use frozen that has been thawed), you can substitute other fruit in this poke bowl. Here are some of my suggestions - pineapple, orange, watermelon, rockmellon).
How to make teriyaki chicken bowl
Step 1: Add chicken pieces to cornflour and allow to tenderise (10 minutes)
Step 2: Mix together teriyaki sauce ingredients and set aside.
Step 3: Add a bit of oil and the chicken pieces to a pan and cook until slightly golden and mostly white
They don't have to be cooked through at this stage because they'll continue to cook in the sauce.
Step 4: Add teriyaki sauce to the chicken and allow it to come to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to low simmer until sticky and coating the chicken.
Step 5: Assemble bowls with rice, chicken, and fresh toppings (instructions for the fancy avocado rose below
Lauren's Top Tips
Don't over-reduce the sauce. It thickens more as it cools and if you're having this for meal prep, it'll thicken a lot in the fridge.
Coat the chicken lightly. Cornflour helps lock in moisture and gives better sauce adhesion.
How to make an avocado rose
Cut a firm-ripe avocado in half and gently remove the skin away from the fruit. Place avocado seed side down and smooth the surface.
Slice the avocado as thinly and evenly as possible.
Start slowly spreading the avocado out into a rectangle shape.
Fan the avocado slices out into a straight line (or however much you have patience for).
Begin at one end and gently roll up the slices as tight as possible.
Continue circling the avocado slices around until you get the final avocado rose.
Meal prepping chicken poke bowl
This teriyaki chicken poke bowl is a great meal prep option because it's balanced with protein from chicken, carbs from rice, and fresh vegetables - and the chicken actually tastes better the next day.
Storing
Store chicken and rice together, and keep fresh toppings (mango, avocado, cucumber, carrot, onion) separate. When having this out of the house, I do tend to remove the mango and onion as it just gets a bit complicated and I'm all about simplicity. But, for dinner at home I'll have all the fix-ins.
You can do this in a separated dish like pictured, or if you don't have one either store in separated containers or add some cupcake holders for the fresh ingredients that you can remove when reheating.
Reheating
You can reheat the chicken and rice together in the microwave after adding a drizzle of water. Reheat in 1 minute intervals until heated through (approx. 2-3 minutes).
Then add the rest of the toppings.
Freezing
You can freeze the chicken and rice portions in airtight containers or vacuum seal bags for up to 3-6 months.
Keep the chicken and rice separate if possible as the sauce will continue to sink into the rice and may make it mushy.
The freezer will change the texture of the fruits and vegetables so I wouldn't recommend including this.
If you want more meal prep information, check out my Meal Prep for Beginners post and my Meal Prep Basics E-Book.
FAQs
You can use bottled teriyaki sauce if convenience is the priority, but keep in mind most store-bought versions are very high in sugar and tend to burn or become overly sticky when reheated. For meal prep, a homemade teriyaki sauce works better because you can control the sweetness and consistency, and it reheats without drying out the chicken.
A poke bowl traditionally features raw fish, while a sushi bowl uses cooked proteins and similar flavour profiles. This teriyaki chicken poke bowl sits closer to a chicken sushi bowl, making it more meal-prep friendly and suitable for reheating.
For a teriyaki chicken poke bowl, medium-grain rice or jasmine rice works best because it holds its texture when reheated and absorbs the teriyaki sauce without becoming mushy. If you want a more traditional sushi bowl feel, sushi rice is a great option, but it can be slightly stickier once reheated, so it's best if you're eating the bowl fresh rather than prepping multiple days in advance.
For meal prep, jasmine rice is usually the most reliable choice - it reheats evenly, stays fluffy, and pairs well with saucy chicken and fresh toppings.
Other rice bowl recipes you'll like
Or, you can have a browse through my rice bowl meal preps for more delicious eats.
Recipe
Teriyaki Chicken Poke Bowl (with Rice and Mango)
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Equipment
Ingredients
Teriyaki sauce (store bought 1 cup or homemade)
- ½ cup soy sauce, subs note 1
- ¼ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 3 tablespoon mirin, subs note 2
- 3 cloves garlic, subs note 3
- 1 teaspoon ginger, subs note 3
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup, subs note 4
- 2 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon cornflour, aka cornstarch
Poke bowl
- 600 g (1 ⅓ lb) chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon cornflour , aka cornstarch
- 200 g (1 cups) rice, makes 3 cups cooked
- 1 avocado
- 1 mango
- 1 cucumber
- 1 carrot
- ¼ cup pickled red onion, (see homemade pickled onions)
- 5 g seaweed
Instructions
Prepare ingredients
- Dice 600 g (1 ⅓ lb) chicken breast into 1 inch pieces and place in a bowl with 1 tbsp cornflour. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- (if making your own teriyaki sauce) Mix together ½ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup brown sugar, 3 tbsp mirin, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tbsp maple syrup until sugar dissolves. Add to the chicken.
- Peel, remove seed and thinly slice or dice: 1 avocado, 1 mango. Thinly slice: 1 cucumber, 1 carrot
- Cook 200 g (1 cups) rice your preferred way or see my tips for cooking rice from scratch.
Cook
- In a large pan over medium-high heat, add the chicken with the teriyaki sauce.
- When the sauce begins to bubble, mix together 2 tbsp water and 1 tbsp cornflour , then add to the sauce. Lower the heat and stir every couple of minutes until sauce thickens over the chicken (approx. 10 minutes).
Assemble
- Layer 4 bowls with 200 g (1 cups) rice 1 avocado, 1 mango, 1 cucumber, 1 carrot, ¼ cup pickled red onion5 g seaweed. Add chicken once cooked.
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