Poke

[torakris]

I have been in a Hawaiian mood for a bit and yesterday my local supermarket had a great price on a nice block of tuna, so I decided to make poke with it. Since it really wasn't enough to feed all 5 of us, I turned it into a bibimbap.

I made a very simple marinade with soy sauce, salt, sesame oil and I tossed in some pine nuts. I have never used pine nuts with it before and they were great! Normally I would add some heat but since the kids were eating I just piled my bowl with a heap of kochujang.

What is your favorite version of poke?

[Pan]

What is poke, Kris?

[torakris]

What is poke, Kris?

←

heaven in a bowl....

Poke (pronounced "po-keh") means "to slice or cut." As a food dish served as an appetizer or snack, it usually consists of bite-sized pieces of raw, fresh fish mixed with seaweed and kukui nut relish. Today's poke aficionados, however, incorporate a wide range of ingredients, including all types of seafood (everything from swordfish and snapper to octopus and lobster), herbs, spices, nuts, marinades, fruits, vegetables, seasonings and even tofu.

from here

[ludja]

torakris; that looks so good!

edited: I had some questions re: the bibimbap but decided to ask it on the bibimbap thread as I saw you also posted there...

looking forward to more info on people's favorite poke preparations...

Edited February 6, 2005 by ludja (log)

[Jensen]

I have poke salad at my favourite sushi place. There, it comes as lightly seared tuna (very lightly!), sliced jalapenos, lots of lemon juice (fresh squeezed onto the salad), and some special Asian-style dressing, all served on top of shredded daikon.

Yum!

[chefzadi]

The French version of a tahitian raw fish dish (I would imagine in it's original preparation it had very little seasoning like authentic poke) Tartare de thon, if it's made with tuna, is often dressed with a vinaigrette with herbs and shallots added to it.

At home when we make poke we don't call it poke we call tartare but it's really the same concept. We add soy sauce, shallots, fresh ginger juice, a touch of hot pepper, sesame oil, sriracha and ummm... mayonaisse. garnish with flying fish roe and sesame seeds.

[Tess]

The pine nuts look like a great idea. I'm going to try that. I love poke in Hawaii, but for some reason, I never make it at home although I occasionally give raw fish (usually salmon or tuna) the ceviche treatment. That will have to change.

[Tonyy13]

When I do poke, or at least what I have been calling poke, I usually like to have decent size chunks of tuna, about 1/2" X 1/2", and I toss it together in a cooled mixture of soy sauce, orange juice, lime juice, mirin, and a little bit of slurry to pull it together. Toss it with a decent amount of scallion and toasted sesame seeds which have toasted quite dark, not burnt, but with a really good toast, I guess to give it that nutty flavor that rounds it out nicely.

A colleague of mine, who happens to think that he is the dog's bollocks, told me that poke means that the fish has been seared quickly in an extrememly hot wok. While I am sure that people cook their poke, I didn't think that was the rule. Any help here on the searing thing? Thanks!!

[chefzadi]

Your colleague is wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Highly doubtful the ancient Hawaiians had woks. Note the photo of the taking a bite out of a whole raw fish.

http://www.hanahou.com/poke.html

[FoodZealot]

As far as I know, seared poke is a relatively recent innovation, usually credited to Sam Choy. Traditionally, it's just marinated, without acid. It's fashionable to use the term to mean any tartare-like preparation.

Personally, I don't like shoyu in my poke. Just coarse or alaea salt, seaweed (fine ogo and limu kohu, if available), inamona (roasted kukui nuts), fresh togarashi chili, diced onion, green onions and a touch of sesame oil.

[chefzadi]

Having visited Guam and Saipan (not Hawaii though) I can only imagine that authentic poke benefits greatly from the flavorings that Asian immigrants brought. The fish was really fresh and tasty on those islands. but basically we were served a hunk of plain raw fish.

The seaweedsand nuts sound like a great additions.

[torakris]

my simplest version is just tuna (my fish of choice for poke) with soy sauce, tabasco and scallions...

I have done the seared version as well, I have a really good recipe from one of the Williams-Sonoma books, but it just doesn't feel like poke to me.

I really liked the pine nuts, actually better than the version I usually make with sesame seeds.