poke (food)

Poke (meaning "to slice or cut crosswise" in Hawaiian) is a staple of local cuisine and daily life in Hawaii, enjoyed by everyone from construction workers grabbing a quick lunch at the grocery store deli to families celebrating at a baby luau. While the dish has exploded in global popularity, often served on the mainland with non-traditional toppings like pineapple, edamame, or mayonnaise, authentic local poke remains focused on the quality of the fresh fish—usually ahi (yellowfin tuna) or aku (skipjack)—enhanced simply by Hawaiian salt, limu (seaweed), inamona (roasted kukui nut), shoyu, and sesame oil. It is appropriate for any casual gathering, potluck, or beach day, but locals are quick to judge a market or restaurant based on the freshness of their poke counter.

The rain was still drumming hard against the tin roof of the Keaukaha house when Benny started working at the kitchen counter. He had his old wooden cutting board out, the one stained dark from decades of use, and a fresh slab of ahi he’d traded some smoked meat for down at Suisan the day before. His hands, thick and scarred from years of pulling handlines, moved with surprising gentleness as he cubed the deep red flesh.

"Nowadays everybody put mayonnaise and all kine spicy stuff," he muttered to himself, reaching for the Hawaiian salt and the jar of roasted inamona he kept hidden behind the rice dispenser. He crushed the kukui nut mixture between his fingers, tossing it into the stainless steel bowl along with some chopped sweet onion and fresh limu kohu he'd gathered near Richardson's.

He gave the bowl a slow, deliberate toss, letting the sesame oil and shoyu coat the fish perfectly. This was real poke, the kind his own father used to make after a long night out on the water. He covered the bowl with plastic wrap and slid it into the fridge to chill, knowing the grandkids would devour the whole batch before noon.