Poke is a Hawaiian dish made with seasoned raw fish, typically served as an appetizer. It has become a hallmark of Hawaiian cuisine, with an annual poke festival and variations served in local restaurants. The dish appeals to both locals and tourists due to its light, Asian-inspired flavor and established place in Hawaiian culture.
Poke is a Hawaiian dish that consists of seasoned raw fish. It’s a very popular food in the Hawaiian Islands, where it’s treated as a hallmark of the local cuisine and has crossed the line in some areas, even appearing in food targeted at tourists. Hawaii also hosts an annual poke festival, where people compete over recipes to celebrate this classic Hawaiian food. In Hawaii, many restaurants offer a twist, especially if they cater to locals, and it’s also commonly made in-house for casual consumption and social events such as parties.
This dish is designed as an appetizer, leading some people to refer to it as a kind of seafood salad. It is typically served in modest quantities, designed to stimulate the appetite and increase interest in the rest of the meal, and can be set up at buffets and parties as a snack. The best poke is made with fresh fish, although some cooks also use fish that has been flash frozen, and a wide variety of fish can be used, although tuna is a particularly popular ingredient.
In Hawaiian, “poke” (pronounced “POH-kay”) means “to cut or cut.” As you might imagine, the fish used in poke is cut into small pieces, usually cubes, though adventurous cooks can get more daring. The fish is seasoned with ingredients such as soy sauce, green onions, kukui nut gourds, and so on, and the poke often includes seaweed as well. Vegetarians are not to be excluded; even poke can be made with tofu.
Polynesians have eaten fish in a variety of forms for centuries, and it’s safe to assume that some kind of cured raw fish dish has been eaten on the Hawaiian Islands for a long time. However, poke rose to prominence in the 1970s when adventurous Hawaiian chefs began exploring Asian cuisine, spawning a version of poke that is heavily influenced by traditional Japanese cuisine. Around this time, Sam Choy began hosting the annual poke festival, popularizing the dish.
Poke is one of the few traditional Hawaiian dishes that has bridged the gap between locals and tourists. Many other traditional Hawaiian dishes like spam musubi are really only enjoyed by the local community, reflecting an acquired taste and complex cultural heritage. Poke, on the other hand, appeals to tourists because it has a light, Asian-inspired flavor and complements seafood, and its established place in Hawaiian culture ensures it will remain a part of the local cuisine for the foreseeable future.
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