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Hawai’ian made simple: Ahi Poke

On a recent visit to Hawaii, we discovered a wonderful summer dish called "poke" (poh-kay). Served chilled, this dish was available everywhere in Hawaii — in restaurants, at festivals, even in neighborhood grocery stores. The two varieties we saw most often was octopus and tuna. Like sashimi, the tuna is raw and the octopus is cooked. Both dishes had similar marinades but some versions were spicier than others. So when we got home, we immediately wanted to recreate this dish. As it turns out, it only took 15 minutes and it works great as an appetizer to just about any meal.

The tuna version seemed easier to make so we went shopping for sushi-grade yellowfin tuna ("ahi" in Japanese). "Sushi-grade" simply means "really fresh," and since we're in the Midwest it's hard to know exactly how fresh the fish at the fish counter really is. So we opted for cryo-frozen yellowfin tuna steak (available at Schnucks), which we thawed in the refrigerator overnight. Since this is an Asian-inspired dish, we used an Asian hot sauce that's commonly referred to as "rooster" brand, but your favorite hot sauce should work just fine. Since we didn't have any toasted sesame seeds laying around, we used Gomasio instead (which is just sesame seeds and salt combined). The rest of the ingredients are pretty common and easy to find. Best of all, there's no cooking involved. Just mix the ingredients together and enjoy!

Ahi Poke
(Preparation: 15 minutes, serves 2–3)

  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
  • ¼ cup onion, diced
  • ¼ cup green onions, diced
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tsp hot sauce (or to taste)
  • ¾ lb raw yellowfin tuna (sushi grade), cubed

Gomasio (or toasted sesame seeds)

  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl (except Gomasio)
  2. Mix well
  3. Sprinkle on Gomasio before serving

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{username}

You can probably tuck in thinly sliced Romas. But for anything juicier like cherries, brandywines, etc., I would go with Pepin’s method of combining them with bread chunks. Zucchini contains a lot of water, too, so you’re probably best to use it solo or with onions. Saute…

Timbo avatar

Any tips for incorporating tomatoes or squash?

{username}

may cai’ bon. nuoc’ ngoai` biet’ j` ve van hoa’ viet nam

emma reaux avatar

I joined on 09-09-09 after living here over a year, and having to listen to my dad tell me how his best friend is, like, #27 or something crazy like that, and how said friend never lived further than 50 feet from the Illini Inn while going…

{username}

Looks like you are also all members of the killer sideburns club.

Joel Gillespie avatar

@Annie: Yeah, my bad. That was the best part! Drinking + memory exercises = fun @Rob: According to Ask the English Teacher, “My dictionary says ‘drunk’ is an archaic past tense of ‘drink.‘“ We’re all about the new grammar around here.

Rob McColley avatar

“more beer is drank”   Awesome. Way to go “editors.“

Annie Weisner avatar

You left out the best part—you have to REMEMBER your number after the beer chugging!     Yeah, I’m a member.

{username}

Great article, man. Like you, I didn’t really know Daniel all that well, but I felt the impact of his death. I too was inspired by him and it pleases me to see that he continues to live on in the spirit of the community.

Justine Fein-Bursoni avatar

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take two seconds to do this. this dude works hard.

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{username}

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John Steinbacher avatar

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Angela, I believe they played at C-U Pride Fest, and they were fantastic.

{username}

to you. http://www.theonion.com/articles/free-condom-harsh-reminder-of-sexless-existence,1377/

Timbo avatar

Speaking of regular commutes getting safer- White Street now open over the great divide east First Street. Woo Hoo!

{username}

I’m not sure that’s what Fred is saying. But the response of “You should just be happy to have a job!“ is a far too common excuse for employers’ bad treatment of workers. It’s also way too common in C-U.

Doug Hoepker avatar

My regular commute to work just got a whole lot safer!

{username}

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{username}

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{username}

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{username}

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{username}

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{username}

You can probably tuck in thinly sliced Romas. But for anything juicier like cherries, brandywines, etc., I would go with Pepin’s method of combining them with bread chunks. Zucchini contains a lot of water, too, so you’re probably best to use it solo or with onions. Saute…

Timbo avatar

UPDATE: He got a lawyer and pled not guilty. The case is next up for trial or for pretrial (can’t tell) on October 18, 2010 at 1:30pm in Courtroom L. Assuming it is up for trial, the States Atty should be sending out subpoenas to bike club…

Timbo avatar

Any tips for incorporating tomatoes or squash?

Rob McColley avatar

You mean, once they’ve paid $140 worth of nickels and dimes in one calendar year the CPL issues them a waiver?   I’ll bet you’d get little argument from the CPL.

{username}

Neat article, neat guy. In central IL however, there is little difference between Lincoln and Rambo (the C02 you just inhaled was ACTUALLY in Lincoln’s lungs once - seriously, i had a nice Urbana resident tell me once the old tree in her front yard was gnarled…

{username}

Hello my dear do not full prey to those hoodlums at they that call them self money lender they are all scam , all they want is your money and you well not hear from them again they have done it to me twice before I met…

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