My first Thanksgiving in the Bay Area, a new friend invited me to share the holiday with her family. Before the potluck meal kicked off, my friend’s Hawaiian grandmother unveiled a bowl of treasure: cubes of succulent raw ahi, or tuna, lightly seasoned with sesame oil and sliced scallions. It was poke—a traditional Hawaiian salad made from fishermen’s leftover catch. With its glassy pink tautness and oceanic aroma, the appetizer put the gloppy mashed potatoes and dry turkey that followed to shame.
Long a staple dish of Hawaiian fishing communities, poke—which means “to cut into pieces”—is often composed of tuna but can be made from other species of fish, octopus, shellfish, or even pork. Over the last few years, more off-island chefs started experimenting with poke on their menus, and boy, did mainlanders take the bait. The number of Hawaiian restaurants on the mainland, mostly in California, doubled between 2014 and 2016. Chains like Pokéworks, Sweetfin Poké, and Aloha Poke Co. feature the raw fish in bowls with rice, and a rainbow of vegetable sides and sauces have turned poke into the hottest trend in fast-casual dining.
BY Maddie Oatman