HAWAIIAN POKE: Poke (pronounced POH-kay) is served in most Hawaiian homes and restaurants as a side dish, and no gathering in Hawaii would be complete without a few bowls of poke. In Hawaiian, poke means cut piece or small piece. Poke is bite-size pieces of raw fish doused in seasonings. Poke is actually the Hawaiian version of the elegant Japanese sashimi (a combining of the Hawaiian and Japanese taste for raw fish). For centuries, Hawaiian fishermen cut their catch of raw fish into cubes and seasoned it with whatever ingredients they had. A typical version of poke consist of cubed raw fish marinated with sea salt, a small amount of soy sauce, inamona ( roasted crushed candlenut), sesame oil, limu seaweed and chopped chili pepper. Modern versions make use of seasonings brought by the many different cultures of the Islands, such as soy sauce, onions, tomatoes, and chilies. Poke is so common in the Hawaiian culture, that you can stop at a local grocery store and choose from several freshly made varieties. It is considered a local food or local grind - comfort food in Hawaii. Normally local food is not the cuisine that is served in upscale hotels and restaurants of Hawaii, but poke has crossed such boundaries. Poke is still evolving in the Hawaiian Islands. It was not until the 1970s that the recipes for poke started appearing in cookbooks.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 08:50:20 +0000