Note: Read Da Perfect Poke Part 1.

With its rustic roots, simple preparation and seasonings, poke until recently remained a blue-collar, soul food for Hawaii. “It was very convenient. It was very important to have poke after a hard days work with ice cold beer. A lot of the working people had to have it,” says Sam Choy, an outsized chef both in girth and personality who is considered by many to be the king of Hawaii’s poke scene. Over time poke evolved. Hispanic paniolo (or cowboys) added chili spice to the mixture. Chinese and Japanese immigrants that came to work on island plantations added soy sauce to poke. More and more types of seafood started showing up in poke in the 20th century when deep water fishing fleets made ahi, now the favorite poke fish, readily available. Oyster sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, Worcestershire, Vietnamese chili paste, and Hawaiian ala’e (rock salt) are all fair game in the hundreds of versions of poke to be had on Oahu alone, not to mention the outer islands.

Most of the high-end restaurants that prepare so-called Hawaii Regional Cuisine have their own version of poke on the menu. Each year Aloha Poke Festival and Contest held on the Big Island at the Hapuna Beach Hotel draws thousands of recipes for eight categories of poke ranging from spicy poke to poke with tofu to traditional poke. (Here are some good accounts of the festival). Most of the top-rated upscale restaurants in Hawaii feature some form of poke on their menus. And every town has several stores that sell fresh poke, including some total hole-in-the-walls that have outrageously good stuff on offer.

As part of my preparations, I call Keoni Chang, the corporate chef for Foodland, a Hawaii-based supermarket chain known for its wide selection of pokes. According to Chang, poke accounts for half of his seafood counter sales. The counters regularly stocks two-dozen varieties. “The fresher poke is a lot more velvety and oily. It’s smoother when you are eating it and chewing it on your palate,” says Chang. Most supermarkets prepare their poke from frozen seafood for price reasons; the frigid version costs half as much. But Foodland and other supermarkets with fish counters will prepare fresh poke for customers that ask for it, explains Chang. Fresh ahi poke runs between $10 and 12 per pound, in general, although it can cost more if premium-grade ahi is used.

More Poke Links

About.com Poke Recipes
Poke Article in Wikipedia
Poke Recipes from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin

—Alex, 07/25/06