Wasabi Poke
The addition of Japanese wasabi to this Hawaiian poke recipe plays up the sashimi quality of this dish, enhancing the raw fish with some nasal heat. Wasabi Poke is an easy-to-make raw tuna recipe.
Poke is defined as a local Hawaiian dish; the word means “to slice or cut into cubes.” Think sashimi-quality raw fish or in this case, tuna made into a fresh seafood salad.
First, the just-caught sashimi-grade tuna is skinned and de-boned. Then the bloodline is removed, and the loin is cut into small cubes and tossed with a light dressing or marinade—similar to a Mexican ceviche, but there’s no citrus juice that “cooks” the fish with acid, so it’s more like a tartare. This showcases the rich, full-flavored tuna. Accentuate the natural flavors with a touch of soy sauce, sesame oil, a crunch of seaweed, some sesame seeds or nuts, and a few veggies.
Simple to make, this dish is perfectly served by itself or with several other variations of poke; just add a seaweed salad, nori wraps, and a pair of chopsticks.
One could make a Poke bowl with this Wasabi Poke recipe. Fill a bowl half full with cooled sushi rice, then mentally divide the circle of rice by the number of toppings you want to add. Think mixed greens, seaweed salad, cubes or slices of ripe avocado, a cucumber salad (marinated cubed cucumbers in seasoned rice wine vinegar, sesame seeds, toasted sesame oil, sea salt), ripe mango (or other tropical fruit like papaya, lilikoi, mangosteen, star fruit or whatever you find in your area), some pickled ginger or other Asian pickles, and top with a dusting of furikake (a Japanese condiment meant for to be sprinkled on cooked rice or used as a seasoning), some nori sheets and maybe a zig-zag of aioli infused with hot sauce | soy sauce | nori | yuzu, to add another creamy element and design. Use your imagination and be inspired by the possibilities that can elevate this Wasabi Poke recipe into a unique poke bowl.
Makes: 1 pound of poke, serving 6–8 people
More Poke Recipes:
Adapted from BeerAdvocate Magazine: Cuisine à la Bière | Oct 2013 | Issue #81
- 1/4 cup soy sauce | tamari | shoyu | liquid aminos
- 2 tablespoon Pale Ale such as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or Firestone Walker Pale 31
- 1 teaspoon oil, sesame, toasted
- 1 teaspoon ginger, Hawaiian (baby or young), peeled and grated fine
- 1 teaspoon wasabi, prepared
- 3 tablespoon seaweed, limu kohou, lightly chopped
- 2 tablespoon green onion, washed, green and white part, sliced thin
- 2 tablespoon roe, cured fish eggs, masago (capelin or smelt fish eggs) or my Curing Salmon Roe recipe | technique
- 1 teaspoon seeds, sesame, toasted, white, black or a mix of the two
- 1 pound tuna, sashimi quality, such as skipjack (bonito), ahi (yellowfin) or yellowtail (hamachi), skinned and cut into half-inch cubes
- In a bowl, add the soy sauce, beer, sesame oil, grated ginger (a Microplane works very well for this task) and prepared wasabi. Using a whisk, blend all the ingredients until incorporated. Set aside.
- In another bowl, add the seaweed, green onion, caviar/roe, sesame seeds and the tuna; mix together with the wasabi dressing until just combined. Wrap with plastic wrap and let the tuna marinate for at least an hour and up to 2 days.
Hawaiian Poke Tips:
- Fresh seaweed can be found in some Asian markets or at a high-quality seafood counter. If you can’t find any, ask your fish monger to special order it. Each type has its own texture and flavor, giving the final poke its special twist.
- On the mainland, kukui nuts are harder to find. You can order them online.
- As this dish is raw, high-quality, ultra fresh ingredients are needed. If sashimi grade (sushi quality) is not available, have your fish monger order it for you, before making this recipe.
More Hawaiian inspired Beer Cuisine Recipes:
