Feature
Long before it became a lunch counter staple, poke was a snack. The word means “to cut crosswise into pieces” in Hawaiian, and the dish was exactly that: freshly caught fish cut into small pieces and seasoned with sea salt, seaweed and crushed roasted nuts. It was something to eat with your fingers, often next to a cold drink, rather than a meal in itself.
From snack to bowl
Over the twentieth century, cooks in Hawaii added soy sauce, sesame oil, green onion and chili, and ahi tuna became the classic choice. The poke bowl, with the fish served over rice and surrounded by toppings, arrived later and spread quickly once it reached the mainland. Today you can find versions with salmon, octopus, tofu and even beets.
A great bowl still follows the logic of the original: excellent fish, simple seasoning and nothing that hides either one.
Start with the fish
Buy fish that is sold for raw eating from a fishmonger you trust, and tell them how you plan to serve it. Keep it cold on the way home and cut it the same day. Use a very sharp knife and cut the fish into even cubes of about three quarters of an inch, so every piece takes on the same amount of seasoning.
Season lightly
For a pound of fish, a good starting point is two tablespoons of soy sauce, one teaspoon of toasted sesame oil, a thinly sliced green onion and a few slivers of sweet onion. Add a pinch of chili flakes or a spoon of chili oil if you like heat. Toss gently and let it sit in the fridge for fifteen to thirty minutes. Longer than that and the salt starts to firm up the texture of the fish.
Build the bowl
- Base: short-grain rice, slightly warm or at room temperature. Brown rice, mixed greens or a mix of both also work.
- Something fresh: cucumber, radish, shredded cabbage or edamame.
- Something rich: sliced avocado or a spoon of spicy mayonnaise.
- Something crunchy: toasted sesame seeds, fried shallots or crushed roasted macadamia nuts.
- Something from the sea: a little seaweed salad or a sprinkle of furikake.
Arrange the toppings in sections around the fish rather than mixing everything together, so each bite can be different.
A few last tips
Keep the portions of fish generous and the sauce restrained. Season the rice with a splash of rice vinegar for brightness. Make poke the day you buy the fish, and do not keep leftovers of seasoned raw fish for another day.
Simple, cold and bright, a good poke bowl tastes like a sunny afternoon, wherever you happen to eat it.
