Today, if you walk into Tamashiro’s Fish Store in Honolulu, you will be confronted by the Poke Bar–at least a dozen different varieties of poke to take home. If you go to the Big Island in September, you can attend Sam Choy’s Poke Festival–one of Hawaii’s best and most famous chefs paying homage to a great Hawaiian dish. And if you go to almost any restaurant in Hawaii, you will see endless poke variations. Fish other than tuna. All varieties of Asian influences (Korean-style Poke, Thai-Style Poke, etc.) Even all varieties of cooking–for it is quite popular today to heat the fish in some way, as in Sam Choy’s Fried Poke. The following version is very popular–a combination of Asian ideas, yielding a delicious, incendiary mouthful. This doesn’t taste like a sushi bar any more.
Makes 4 appetizer portions
3/4 lb. raw tuna, cut in cubes approximately 5/8″ each all around (see NOTE)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons good-quality thin soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon very finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon chili paste with garlic
6 tablespoons small-dice daikon
2 tablespoons finely minced cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon water (optional)
1. Place the tuna in a mixing bowl, and sprinkle it with the sugar. Toss well. Add the soy sauce, ginger, garlic, chili paste, daikon and cilantro leaves. Toss well to blend evenly. Place in refrigerator, covered, and allow flavors to blend for 30-60 minutes. When ready to serve, thin out with a little water, if desired.
NOTE: You might consider using other kinds of fish in this poke, especially if you’re serving it in tandem with the Basic Ahi Poke. Any rich-textured raw fish from the sushi bar will do–but cooked shellfish is also a strong possibility. One of the most popular spicy pokes in Hawaii today is Tako Poke–cut-up pieces of cooked octopus mixed with spicy seasonings. Use 3/4 lb. of it–or cooked squid, or cooked shrimp–to make the recipe above.
