Everybody loves a good poke bowl -- a mound of fresh, raw fish, marinated in savoury sauces atop a bed of rice or crisp salad. Customisable, trendily 'healthy' and undeniably photogenic, the Hawaiian mainstay is a trend that's taken cities by storm, from Los Angeles to Hong Kong. Yes, it's never been easier to get poke, but what you bought for your al-desko lunch today might not be further from its Hawaiian origins. Here are 6 things you need to know about authentic poke, including how to make your own at home.
1. It sounds like “Poh-keh”, not poki, not poke.
And it is definitely not written as 'poké'. Here’s a crash course to the Hawaiian language: it does not use diacritical marks and you are supposed to pronounce every syllable. So for example Route 63, also known as Likelike Highway is ‘lee-keh-lee-keh’ and not, well, ‘like-like’. Similarly, ‘poke’ is a two-syllable word and simply means “cut into chunks” in Hawaiian. Now say 'Humuhumunukunukuapua’a' -- that’s the state fish of Hawaii.
And it is definitely not written as 'poké'. Here’s a crash course to the Hawaiian language: it does not use diacritical marks and you are supposed to pronounce every syllable. So for example Route 63, also known as Likelike Highway is ‘lee-keh-lee-keh’ and not, well, ‘like-like’. Similarly, ‘poke’ is a two-syllable word and simply means “cut into chunks” in Hawaiian. Now say 'Humuhumunukunukuapua’a' -- that’s the state fish of Hawaii.
Poke has its roots in small reef fish but became traditionally made with ahi tuna or octopus
2. It was originally made with small Hawaiian reef fish
Poke is rooted in the days when native Hawaiian fishermen would slice up smaller reef fish and serve them raw, seasoned with whatever was on hand—usually condiments such as sea salt, candlenut, seaweed and limu, a kind of brown algae.
3. Salmon in your poke isn’t very authentic
With the arrival of Japanese workers in the late 1800s and the advent of longline fleets plying the deep sea in the Pacific, the predominant poke fish shifted to ahi tuna. Today, though salmon seems to be the most popular, the classic poke is still raw Ahi tuna or cured octopus, known as he’e in Hawaii.
Poke is rooted in the days when native Hawaiian fishermen would slice up smaller reef fish and serve them raw, seasoned with whatever was on hand—usually condiments such as sea salt, candlenut, seaweed and limu, a kind of brown algae.
3. Salmon in your poke isn’t very authentic
With the arrival of Japanese workers in the late 1800s and the advent of longline fleets plying the deep sea in the Pacific, the predominant poke fish shifted to ahi tuna. Today, though salmon seems to be the most popular, the classic poke is still raw Ahi tuna or cured octopus, known as he’e in Hawaii.
Most trendy poke shops today offer a variety of toppings and toss their raw fish in sauce to order
4. People get really passionate about poke
Even with the proliferation of poke shops all over the world, you might still have heard Hawaiians sigh that they can’t satisfy their craving for real poke. That’s poke, not poké or poki. For chef Mark Noguchi, adding the accent over the "e" is equivalent to "cultural slander" and he said as much in an article that went viral, lambasting the misrepresentation of Hawaiian culture and more worryingly, the negative environmental impact of turning a finite resource like ahi tuna, into a chain restaurant. Which brings us to our next point:
5. Traditional poke doesn’t have pineapple and is not very Instagrammable
Poke shops offering a myriad of topping choices were all the rage in the past few years and the trend doesn’t seem to be fizzling out anytime soon. It helps that poke bowls are inherently social media-worthy with their colourful toppings and fit right in with the clean-eating movement. You pick your raw protein, condiments and sauce and your poke is tossed to order and served over rice.
But real Hawaiian poke though, really isn’t very Instagrammable. In the Aloha State, poke is a supermarket staple and you’d find an entire counter with trays filled with already-marinated raw fish in flavours like shoyu poke, limu or Hawaiian-style poke with chopped kukui nuts or spicy ahi. These murky-looking chunks are sold by weight and scooped unceremoniously into plastic deli containers. Not pretty, but scrumptious.
Even with the proliferation of poke shops all over the world, you might still have heard Hawaiians sigh that they can’t satisfy their craving for real poke. That’s poke, not poké or poki. For chef Mark Noguchi, adding the accent over the "e" is equivalent to "cultural slander" and he said as much in an article that went viral, lambasting the misrepresentation of Hawaiian culture and more worryingly, the negative environmental impact of turning a finite resource like ahi tuna, into a chain restaurant. Which brings us to our next point:
5. Traditional poke doesn’t have pineapple and is not very Instagrammable
Poke shops offering a myriad of topping choices were all the rage in the past few years and the trend doesn’t seem to be fizzling out anytime soon. It helps that poke bowls are inherently social media-worthy with their colourful toppings and fit right in with the clean-eating movement. You pick your raw protein, condiments and sauce and your poke is tossed to order and served over rice.
But real Hawaiian poke though, really isn’t very Instagrammable. In the Aloha State, poke is a supermarket staple and you’d find an entire counter with trays filled with already-marinated raw fish in flavours like shoyu poke, limu or Hawaiian-style poke with chopped kukui nuts or spicy ahi. These murky-looking chunks are sold by weight and scooped unceremoniously into plastic deli containers. Not pretty, but scrumptious.
Poke is sold by weight in most Hawaiian supermarkets
6. You can make it easily at home
I don’t know if you can even call this a recipe, but making shoyu ahi poke at home is a piece of cake. Get your hands on 500g of sashimi-grade tuna and cut it into bite-sized cubes. In a bowl, mix together about 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, a tablespoon of oyster sauce, a drizzle of sesame oil, a teaspoon on minced garlic, a handful of chopped green onions, and really, whatever other condiments you feel like—a dash of chili oil or paprika, maybe. Whisk it up all together and marinate the tuna cubes in it for about an hour in the fridge, and voila! Fresh, delicious poke that you can serve over rice with a couple of slices of avocado for good measure.
I don’t know if you can even call this a recipe, but making shoyu ahi poke at home is a piece of cake. Get your hands on 500g of sashimi-grade tuna and cut it into bite-sized cubes. In a bowl, mix together about 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, a tablespoon of oyster sauce, a drizzle of sesame oil, a teaspoon on minced garlic, a handful of chopped green onions, and really, whatever other condiments you feel like—a dash of chili oil or paprika, maybe. Whisk it up all together and marinate the tuna cubes in it for about an hour in the fridge, and voila! Fresh, delicious poke that you can serve over rice with a couple of slices of avocado for good measure.
