Creativity is the spice of Reney Ching’s life, and when she directs her energies to the kitchen, family and friends know their taste buds will be dazzled. Ching’s hobby is making poke, and her innovative repertoire broadens the possibilities of the flavorful food. Forget all the ways to dress up ahi (yellowfin and bigeye tunas). Instead, think bright bites of kajiki (blue marlin), opihi, tofu — even steak.

"I’m one that thinks outside the box a lot," she said.

Ching, 59, head cook and kitchen operations manager at Punahou School, turns out her inventive interpretations for school functions, birthday parties, weddings and the like. She even sets up poke bars where guests can design their own dish. Cooking for celebrations has led to Party Poke by Reney, "a really, really small, small business," she said.

But for Ching, poke making is a lifelong labor of love.

"I so believe you have to cook from the heart," she said. "I’ve loved poke since I was young, and there weren’t a lot of stores that sold it back then, so I wanted to learn.

"My mom taught me once, and I watched my uncles, I watched other people, then I made my own."

On Tuesday, Punahou is teaming up with Slow Food Oahu to pre­sent an evening focused on sustainable fish, with a film and discussion, plus an array of Ching’s original poke to punctuate the point.

Though Ching hasn’t finalized her menu, she has a number of interesting possibilities to choose from.

One of her top choices in fish is kajiki; it’s less expensive than ahi but just as versatile.

"It’s firm and easy to work with, and it’s able to absorb flavors well. It’s not fishy; it has a clean taste," she said.

Ching says kajiki can easily sub for ahi in most any poke recipe. Of course, she likes to be innovative. Her go-to kajiki poke combines the fish with basic seasonings — Hawaiian salt, sesame oil, a sprinkling of ina­mona (ground kukui nuts) and red and green Cali­for­nia chili peppers, which are mildly hot — along with refreshing avocado.

Her own favorite fish for poke is aku (skipjack tuna).

"I do it simple: Hawaiian salt, ina­mona, sesame oil, green onions and chili flakes — so good," she raved.

But no matter what type of fish she uses, Ching says it must be of a high enough grade that there is no stringiness in the flesh. And it must be fresh.

"I always ask the guys at the counter when they put out the fish," she said. "I won’t buy anything that’s been out more than two days."

Like Ching, Jason Chow enjoys using alternative fish for poke. He extols the virtues of smaller fish.

"You can make poke from any fish you want. It’s all about preference," said Chow, of Conservation International. He will speak at the Punahou event.

Chow encourages making poke with locally caught smaller fish, which are sustainable because they reproduce quickly and in higher numbers than larger fish.

"Two of my favorites are opelu (mackerel scad) and akule (bigeye scad). They have just as much flavor as other fish."

Reef fish such as kala (unicorn fish) and nenue (rudderfish) are excellent if you like the flavor of seaweed, he says, because they feed on seaweed and their flesh takes on its flavor.

Then there are oio (bonefish) and awa (milkfish), with flesh the liquidy consistency of fishcake.

"You can make these lomi style," said Chow.

One of Ching’s most popular poke doesn’t feature fish at all. Her spicy shrimp recipe incorporates Sriracha, mayonnaise, tobiko and green onions.

In this dish there’s a lesson that hits to the heart of the sustainable seafood discussion.

"The idea is to look at things that are sustainably produced, that are good also for the people who produce them," said Laurie Carlson, regional governor of Slow Food Oahu.

Shrimp is an especially dramatic illustration of this.

"Farmed shrimp can be a double disaster in Thailand because production compromises the environment, plus it promotes slavery," she said. "People are literally held captive and enslaved at these shrimp farms."

Carlson says U.S.-raised shrimp are regulated.

"Kahuku shrimp and Kauai shrimp are fresh and sweet, and they’re pretty reasonably priced," she said.

Ching has also made a vegetarian sea asparagus poke and an opihi version that combines shucked opihi with finely chopped aku, lomi’d with ina­mona, Hawaiian salt and limu.

But Ching doesn’t limit herself to the ocean.

"Some people don’t like fish, so I toyed with alternatives to fish," she said.

A tofu kim chee variation entails baking poke-size pieces of tofu to harden and dry them slightly. Ching mixes her own kim chee sauce and marinates the tofu with won bok, chives and green onions and seasons it with sesame oil and sesame seeds.

Then there’s another fan favorite: beef poke, a sustainable recipe when it includes isle beef. Local beef is ideal since cattle are grass-fed, delivering meat that is especially lean. This is a necessity since poke is served cold.

For this preparation, Ching brines the beef, then coats it in a rub before grilling and then marinating it in a ponzu sauce. Fresh veggies complete the recipe.

"People love it!" she said.

KAJIKI AVOCADO POKE

» 2 pounds fresh kajiki
» 1 medium sweet onion
» 1 red California chili pepper
» 1 green California chili pepper
» 1 tablespoon Hawaiian salt
» 1/4 cup sesame oil
» 1 heaping tablespoon inamona (ground kukui nut)
» 2 ripe avocados

Cut kajiki into 1/2-inch cubes.

Finely dice onion and chili peppers. Set aside.

In large bowl, mix kajiki with Hawaiian salt, then add sesame oil, inamona and chili peppers. Mix well.

Dice 1 avocado and add to bowl. Mix in until it becomes slightly creamy. Refrigerate until time to serve.

Just before serving, dice other avocado and top the poke. Serves 8 to 10 people.

Approximate nutritional information, per 1/2-cup serving: 210 calories, 11 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 600 mg sodium, 4 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 23 g protein

TRI-TIP STEAK POKE

» 2 pounds tri-tip or other lean steak
» 2 tablespoons Hawaiian salt
» 1 large Japanese cucumber
» 12 ounces cherry tomatoes
» 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
» 1 medium sweet onion

Meat rub:
» 1/2 cup onion powder
» 1/2 cup garlic powder
» 1/2 cup paprika
» 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

Ponzu sauce:
» 3/4 cup soy sauce
» 3 tablespoons mirin
» 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
» 2 tablespoons lemon juice

For meat rub, combine all ingredients. Set aside.

To make ponzu, combine all ingredients. Set aside. (Prepared ponzu is also available in the Asian food aisle in markets.)

Cut steak into strips 3/4 to 1 inch thick.

Make brine with 2 tablespoons Hawaiian salt to 3/4 gallon water; mix well. Place steak into salt water and brine overnight in refrigerator.

The next day, shake off water and roll strips in rub. Cook on grill to medium-well.

Cut meat into 1/2-inch cubes and place in large bowl.

Finely dice onion and add to bowl. Add ponzu. Marinate 1 hour in fridge.

When ready to serve, dice cucumber and slice cherry tomatoes in half. Add to meat along with sesame seeds and toss. Serves 8 to 10 people.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (based on 10 servings): 250 calories, 9 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,700 mg sodium, 20 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 5 g sugar, 25 g protein

On the menu, sustainable Hawaii fish

The beauty of fish is its versatility. It satisfies as a rustic poke and also shines in the most refined of gourmet dishes.

"When it’s fresh, fish is great no matter what the variety," said chef George Mavrothalassitis of Chef Mavro.

The chef is teaming up with Brooks Takenaka, general manager of United Fishing Agency, to showcase a range of sustainable Hawaii fish in a seven-course meal.

"I want to show people it’s not only about ahi and onaga," said the chef. "There’s hebi (shortbill spearfish), nairagi (striped marlin), ono (wahoo), shutome (broadbill swordfish). If you don’t always eat the same fish, then you can talk sustainability."

Mavrothalassitis says ono is great to grill, while nairagi made into poke "is the best way to eat it you can imagine."

The chef has a sumptuous plan for shutome, a large fish with meaty flesh that he likens to steak. In fact, he slices it as one would a piece of steak.

The chef tops the fish with a thin layer of grated Yukon potatoes, which he crusts on the skillet. After turning it over to quickly mark the flesh, he places the fish in a low oven to cook it slowly, preserving its juiciness.

The fish is served on a bed of young spinach and topped with a Burgundy sauce, laboriously made with Maui onions cooked in thrice-reduced pinot noir and blended with carrots for a thick, smooth, intense essence.

Other items on the menu: hebi ceviche with ogo; nairagi poke with caviar, taro chips and ponzu; and onaga (long-tail red snapper), prepared Chinatown style.

Think small

In considering sustainable fish, think fish lower on the food chain. These are small herbivores that multiply quickly and in high numbers.

Jason Chow of Conservation International is working to start a statewide community-supported fishery, or CSF, this summer. In a CSF, participants commit to buying a specific amount of fish via a subscription service.

Since what’s offered depends on what’s plentiful, sustainable and available, consumers will likely be cooking up the smaller varieties of local fish.

Small fish generally take a year or two to become reproductively mature, while larger fish take three to five years.

"There’s a general model for most species that looks like the food pyramid, with plant eaters on the bottom and predators at the very top," said Chow. "In most ecosystems there are larger amounts of herbivores than carnivores, so there are lots of triggerfish, and sharks would be at the peak.

"Harvesting fish from the bottom of the pyramid is good because there is more abundance there."