Poké [Hawaiian Raw Fish Salad]
Food and drink are extremely evocative - instantly transporting us back to a specific moments in time, triggering memories of people and places that now, seem decades old.
Poké for example - a simple dish of fresh fish and vibrant aromatics - takes me back to two specific moments in time. The first is in 2015 - when I was traveling through Maui with my best friend Justin. If you ever travel with me, you’ll come to understand that food takes priority on my agenda, and this trip was no different. I insisted on making a pitstop to Tamara’s Express Market right before we were heading out and luckily, he obliged. I remember the abundance of ahi tuna poke combinations and Justin rushing me along to prevent me from over-ordering. We ended up picking three containers of ahi tuna poke, savoring every bit of freshness while the warm summer heat beat overhead.
The second memory is a bit different, but has become one of the many things I look forward to during my quarterly trips to Paris for fashion month and Couture season. On one of the summer trips to Paris, my friend Vic insisted I try a poke restaurant she stumbled upon earlier that week. Per usual, I was skeptical of a dish so far from its point of origin, but went along anyway. When we arrived in this small hole in the wall in the 2nd, I couldn’t help but notice the line outside - instant affirmation. I ended up ordering a ahi tuna and salmon poke bowl spread over a bed of fluffy rice, coupled next to a side of wakame, edamame and some of their special blend “guacamole”. This was the perfect pick-me-up and exactly what I needed during a long fashion month. So now, every time I find myself back to Paris, I visit this little poke shop owned by these two Hawaiian brothers.
Now, poké bowls is one of those dishes you can dress up whichever way you like - hence why the Parisian Hawaiian Poke Bowl works in this assembly line format. And when you’re making your own bowl at home, just make sure to get the poké part right - always fresh fish and focus on finding the right balance of salty, umami and that slight hint of sourness . Then, add your fresh fish salad to whatever combination of ingredients - I suggest rice, wakame, red cabbage, etc.; but so many ways to eat this, here’s my favorite - as is with all the ingredients married in one bowl, fresh and within the disturbance of too many carbohydrates.
Here’s my go-to recipe for the fresh fish salad that I love to eat all spring and summer long. Enjoy!
Trout Poké
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS
ChalkSteam Trout or similar fresh fish such as salmon or ahi tuna
1 Avocado, diced
5 cloves of Garlic, thinly sliced
4 Scallions, sliced
1 Shallot, sliced
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Sesame Oil
2 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Sesame Seeds
DIRECTIONS
Prepare fish by removing skin. Dice into cubes. Place fish in a medium bowl and mix in rice wine vinegar. Cover bowl and place in fridge.
Prepare garlic. In a small saucepan, heat some neutral oil on medium-low. Drop heat to low and add garlic. Using a spatula, every disperse the garlic across the pan. Once garlic is light brown in color, remove from heat and drain into a paper towel. Set aside.
Remove fish from fridge. In the same bowl, mix in shallots and avocado. Then, add soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Lastly, mix in 3/4 of the chopped scallions.
Top poke with fried garlic slices and remaining scallions.
