Poke ( Hawaiian for "to slice" or "cut crosswise into pieces"; sometimes anglicised as 'poké' to aid pronunciation) is diced raw fish served either as an appetizer or a main course and is one of the popular dishes in Hawaii. Traditional forms are ''aku'' (

skipjack tuna The skipjack tuna (''Katsuwonus pelamis'') is a medium-sized perciform fish in the tuna family, Scombridae. It is otherwise known as the balaya (Sri Lanka), bakulan/kayu (North Borneo), tongkol/aya (Malay Peninsula/Indonesia), aku (Hawaii), cakal ...

) and ''he'e'' (

octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...

). ''Heʻe poke'' is sometimes called ''tako poke'' in places where the Hawaiian language is not spoken. Poke differs from other raw fish dishes in that it does not use citrus fruits as a

curing A cure is a completely effective treatment for a disease. Cure, or similar, may also refer to: Places * Cure (river), a river in France * Cures, Sabinum, an ancient Italian town * Cures, Sarthe, a commune in western France People * Curate or ...

agent.

History

Poke began with fishermen

seasoning Seasoning is the process of supplementing food via herbs, spices, salts, and/or sugar, intended to enhance a particular flavour. General meaning Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". Ho ...

the cut-offs from their catch to serve as a snack. According to the food historian

Rachel Laudan Rachel Laudan (born 1944) is a food historian, an author of the prizewinning ''Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History''. Beginning around 2012, poke became increasingly popular in North America.Vince Dixon
Data Dive: Tracking the Poke Trend: Proof that the Hawaiian dish is here to stay
''Eater'' (September 14, 2016). From 2014 to mid-2016, "the number of Hawaiian restaurants on Foursquare City Guide, Foursquare, which includes those that serve poke," doubled, going from 342 to 700. These restaurants serve both traditional and modern versions of the dish. The modern version is sometimes called poké bowl and may have the ingredients arranged in a grouped way rather than mixed. Contemporary poke restaurants are mostly—but not exclusively—Fast casual restaurant, fast casual style restaurants where the dish is fully customizable from the base to the marinade on the fish. There is a three-day "I Love Poke" festival held in San Diego yearly to celebrate the dish and its many variations.

Ingredients

The traditional Hawaiian poke consists of fish that has been gutted, skinned, and deboned. Traditional Hawaiian poke may consist of cubed raw fish, maui onions, inamona (roasted, crushed and salted candlenut), green onions, and/or sesame oil. It is served with traditional condiments such as Hawaiian sea salt and Limu (algae), limu. Modern Hawaiian versions of traditional poke seasonings have been heavily influenced by Japanese cuisine, Japanese and other Asian cuisine, Asian cuisines, such as soy sauce, furikake (mix of dried fish, sesame seeds, and dried seaweed), chopped dried or fresh chili pepper, fish eggs, and wasabi. Fish types may include cured ''hee'' (

), other types of raw tuna, raw salmon and various kinds of shellfish. North American variations may include ponzu sauce, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, sriracha sauce, and mayonnaise as sauces, and avocado, mushrooms, crispy onions, pickled jalapeño, cilantro, pineapple, cucumber, edamame, green onions, and a variety of other fusion cuisine vegetables among the chopped ingredients. Unlike traditional Hawaiian poke, the mainland style is typically not pre-marinated but is instead prepared with sauces on demand. A variety of fish may be available, with ahi tuna the most popular, and yellowtail (fish), yellowtail, salmon, octopus, crab, and imitation crab as common additional choices. An option to add a base of cooked rice is not uncommon. Tako Poke

Similar dishes

Poke is similar to other Polynesian culture, Polynesian fish salads such as ''ika mata'' in the Cook Islands, ''kokoda'' in Fiji, oka in Samoa and 'ota 'ika in Tonga. A very similar dish is the ''kinilaw'' of the Philippines. ''Kinilaw'' is usually raw diced fish marinated in citrus juice, sour fruits, or vinegar with extracts from mangrove bark or fruits (and sometimes coconut milk). This process can also be applied to other seafood and lightly Blanching (cooking), blanched or Grilling, grilled meat (the latter being generally differentiated as ''kilawin''). The dish was introduced to Guam during the Spanish colonial empire, Spanish colonial period, resulting in the derivative Chamorro people, Chamorro dish of ''kelaguen''. The Ilocano people, Ilocano dish poqui poqui of the Philippines also likely derived its name from poke, after the influx of Ilocano sugarcane workers to Hawaii during the History of the Philippines (1898–1946), American colonization of the Philippines. However, they are very different dishes, with poqui poqui being a scrambled egg dish with grilled eggplants and tomatoes. Raw fish dishes similar to poke that are often served in Europe are fish carpaccio and fish tartare. Also similar to poke are Korean hoe-deopbap, marinated raw tuna served over rice, and Peruvian ceviche. Japanese sashimi also consists of raw seafood; other similar Japanese dishes are zuke don, a donburi dish topped with cured fish (usually tuna or salmon) along with avocado topped with furikake, and kaisendon, a more elaborate version served with additional non-fish toppings.

References

External links

History of the poke contest
{{Salads Hawaiian cuisine Appetizers Raw fish salads National dishes Uncooked fish dishes Seafood dishes

History

Ingredients

Similar dishes

See also

References

External links