So many of us think we know poke. We know it involves raw fish, onions, seaweed, soy sauce, maybe some oils and chili peppers. We also know it can involve cooked shellfish, so we think we’re pretty smart.
Really, we are amateurs.
Poke professionals can turn poke into a salad with cucumbers and tomatoes, or into a vegetarian dish made with tofu, or into an entree made with seared ahi, or into a fusion mashup of flavors that bridge traditional Hawaiian with Asian and European.
Enter chef Sam Choy, who has done more than any other human being to spread the gospel of poke beyond these shores, to teach the world that it’s not “poke,” as in a finger in the eye, but “po-kay,” as in fresh and delicious.
Choy has reissued his 2009 cookbook, “Poke,” this time called “Poke: Hawaii’s Food” (Mutual Publishing, $19.95), in partnership with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Poke is “the quintessential local dish,” Choy writes in his introduction, and to appreciate it is to establish your island cred. “Like rubber slippers, ‘Eddie Would Go’ bumper stickers and the ability to eat peas with chopsticks, it is a reliable cue in the old game of ‘who’s local?’ For me, poke is the king of island foods.”
In Hawaiian poke simply means “to slice,” so the dish can incorporate any cut-up ingredient, raw or cooked, with any combination of flavorings. Choy’s book explores all the angles. He starts with the traditional, flavored with sea salt and inamona (ground kukui nuts); moves on to include Asian flavors of soy and sesame; then to contemporary versions, such as one made with ginger-macadamia nut pesto.
Later chapters pay tribute to the “Calabash Cousins” — ceviche, carpaccio, tartare — and to the contributions of other chefs. I was especially happy to see a recipe from Mel Tanioka of Tanioka’s Seafoods and Catering, that palace of poke in Waipahu. Recipes from Tanioka’s are closely guarded, so this version with ground chili pepper and wasabi paste is a good one for the recipe box.
I’ve also included Choy’s recipe for Spicy Ahi Tomato Poke, which merges chili pepper heat with the sweetness of tomatoes and sugar.
“Poke: Hawaii’s Food” is available at a discount through a coupon in today’s newspaper (Page D4). You can also order it through the publisher; visit mutualpublishing.com or call 732-1709. Find it in retail stores statewide in mid-November.
Spicy Ahi Tomato Poke
» 1 pound sashimi-grade ahi, diced in 3/4-inch pieces
» 1 medium tomato, diced in 1/4-inch pieces
» 1/2 cup chopped onion
» 2 tablespoons soy sauce
» 1 teaspoon sesame oil
» 1/2 teaspoon sugar
» 1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes or 1 Hawaiian chili pepper, minced
» 2 tablespoons chopped green onion, for garnish
Place all ingredients except garnish in bowl; mix gently. Allow flavors to blend 1 hour before serving. Garnish with green onion. Serves 4 as an appetizer.
Approximate nutritional analysis: 170 calories, 2.5 g fat, no saturated fat, 40 mg cholesterol, 550 mg sodium, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 32 g protein
Tanioka’s Lomi Ahi
» 2 teaspoons soy sauce
» 1/2 teaspoon ground chili pepper (or more, to taste)
» 1/2 teaspoon wasabi paste (S&B brand preferred)
» Pinch sea salt
» 2 pounds ahi or aku, chopped
» Garnish: 1/4 cup EACH finely sliced Maui onion, chopped green onion, shredded nori, salmon roe and/or tobiko (flying fish roe)
Combine soy sauce, chili pepper, wasabi and salt; pour over fish. Garnish. Serves 4-6.
Approximate nutritional analysis: 180 calories, 1.5 g fat, no saturated fat, 95 mg cholesterol, 250 mg sodium, 1 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 1 g sugar, 39 g protein
Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S. Write “By Request,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813. Or email requests to bshimabukuro@staradvertiser.com.
