Ahi Tuna Poke

The story I heard is that fishermen in Hawaii figured out a nice lunch with ingredients carried on board and discarded low-grade tuna. Poke is the result of ingenuity born of Asia. Ahi tuna is delicious raw, and IHMO the worst thing you can do to tuna, or steak for that matter, is cook it. Look for Ahi Tuna Steaks in the freezer at your grocery.

Poke is indeed simple and quick to prepare. While the bowl at left is the most common way to enjoy Poke, we prefer to eat it as a sort of salad. We add wakame and sometimes cucumbers. We eat it on individual plates, served from a common bowl. With chopsticks.

When I first started making Poke I was sorely tempted to add rice vinegar and/or lime juice. When I tried this, the acid ruined the appearance of the tuna within minutes. You can squirt a little lime at the table just before you eat it — but after you taste it just like this, you won't want to.

Ingredients

  • 8 to 10 oz Ahi Tuna Steak, patted dry, cut unto 1 inch cubes

  • One or two green onions sliced fine

  • 4 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

  • ½ Tbsp sesame oil

  • ¼ Tsp black sesame seeds

  • Optional Ingredients:

    • ¼ Tsp wakame (reconstituted in warm water)

    • Cubed cucumber

    • Shredded carrot

    • Togarashi, to taste

Place the Ahi cubes in a bowl and add the other ingredients. Stir. Pop this into the fridge to chill as it marinates. Stir it few times over the course of an hour so that the marinate is uniform.

It is just that simple, and ever so delightful to eat.