Suddenly, my husband is talking about it…probably saw it at a magazine or something and remembered eating it. He said it is sooo good, and sooo healthy and so forth. So, what is Poke? I had to investigate. Well after checking out couple of recipes, I understood why he loves it. For anyone that likes sashimi/sushi or ceviche, Poke is not that far off.
So Wiki says:
“Poke /poʊˈkeɪ/ is a raw fish salad served as an appetizer in Hawaiian cuisine. Pokē is the Hawaiian verb for "section" or "to slice or cut".
Poke began with fishermen seasoning the cut-offs from their catch to serve as a snack. Traditional poke seasonings have been heavily influenced by Japanese and other Asian cuisines. These include soy sauce, green onions, and sesame oil. Others include furikake (mix of dried fish, sesame seeds, and dried seaweed), chopped dried or fresh chili pepper, limu (seaweed), sea salt, inamona (roasted crushed candlenut), fish eggs, wasabi, and Maui onions. Other variations of poke may include cured heʻe (octopus), other types of raw tuna, raw salmon and various kinds of shellfish.”
And here is my take on the Tuna Poke. I went all Japanese. Why not? Poke is open to interpretation, adaptation, and creativeness. And the husband approved. Years ago, you would only find one kind of ceviche and now, there are so many variations.. Poke definitely has a similar future. Go crazy with Poke.
Tuna Poke on Sushi Rice
(makes 2 mains, 4 appetisers)
300gr Sashimi grade Tuna, cut into 1.5cm cubes
Marinade:
3tbsp soy sauce
3tbsp cooking sake
2 ½ tbsp mirin
1tsp toasted sesame oil
1tsp wasabi
1tbsp finely grated ginger
- mix all ingredients and add cubed tuna.
- marinate for 2 hours.
[1 hour into the tuna marination, start prepping rice and sushi rice vinegar]
Sushi rice:
1 ½ cups white sushi rice, washed and rested for 30 min.
Water
- wash the rice until water runs through clear.
- rest rice in clear water, just covering it for 30minutes.
- drain the rice and place in a pan (or rice cooker and follow instructions according to the cooker’s guidebook)
- add 2 cups water
- cover the lid and bring to boil.
- immediately after it starts to boil, bring the heat lowest possible and cook until you see little dents in between rice grains, about 8-9 minutes.
- turn off the heat, and place the pan away.
- wrap the lid with kitchen towel completely, and rest rice for 10-13 minutes (the kitchen towel will absorb the steam rising from the rice, and prevent rice to be mushy)
Sushi rice vinegar
(can be bought ready made in most supermarkets):
¼ cup sake-mash vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
¼ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup sugar
2tbsp salt
- heat the liquids in a pan over medium heat.
- add salt and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Put aside until it cools.
Garnish:
3tbsp largely grated daikon
2tbsp thinly sliced scallion
1tsp black sesame, to sprinkle on rice
1tsp shichimi pepper
Assemble:
- When the rice is rested, wet a plastic spatula or wooden spoon to make it ready to mix the rice. This way, rice doesn’t stick to the spoon/spatula.
- Pour ¼ of sushi rice vinegar into rice and start mixing the rice. Gradually, adjust the amount of vinegar you want in your rice by adding.
- Place 3 heaped tbsp of rice to your plate. Sprinkle with ½ of black sesame.
- Top with half of tuna.
- Sprinkle with scallions and 1/2tsp shichimi pepper
- Drizzle with 2 tbsp of the marinade.
- Squeeze the liquid out of the shredded daikon and top the tuna with it.
Enjoy!
