Some ancients, like the Sardinians, prepared their delicacies by putting a wheel of cheese outside and inviting maggots to climb in, calling the resulting treat Casu Marzu. Other predecessors of the 21st century decided that maybe fly larvae and stinky cheese would not make for a palatable experience. Early Hawaiians instead created Poke, the English equivalent of “bite-size pieces of raw fish doused in seasonings” according to What’s Cooking America. Who would’ve predicted that Poke is now a worldwide craze and Casu Marzu is banned?
Simplicity is beautiful. According to Honolulu Magazine, the word “poke” originally just meant “to cut crosswise into pieces” in Hawaiian. What’s Cooking America explains the uncomplicated process Ancient Hawaiians undertook in preparing their poke: they cut their fresh catches into cubes and seasoned the raw pieces with “whatever ingredients they had.”
The islands’ ancestors and Sam Choy’s annual three-day poke festivals may have bred a food legend, but humans push the boundaries of innovation. This desire to outdo what’s already great led the owners of Pa`ina Café to add rice and sauce to poke and create the famous and customizable Poke Bowl in 2008. The Pa`ina Café owners may have coined Hawaii’s favorite petname when they opened their previous establishment The Poke Bowl at Ward Centre, but there is another contender for poke bowl ownership rights. In 2002 the Oahu restaurant Gyotaku started to offer on its menu the “assorted poke don” which is a fanciful Japanese way of saying poke over rice. It doesn’t matter who really started the trend, because they’re both most likely making generous deposits into their bank accounts anyways.
What makes the Poke Bowl Foodland’s hottest commodity and garnered over 1,000 positive reviews on Da Poke Shack’s Yelp page? Let’s substitute our forceps for chopsticks and dissect the biology of a classic Poke Bowl.
THE RICE
Photo via Wikimedia Commons by Tamago915
This isn’t the same rice you’d find in a microwaveable Stouffers dinner, or on a Chicken Katsu plate at a hole-in-the-wall dive. The bed of a Poke Bowl is sticky, making it feel like a gigantic pillow of fancy sushi with every bite. Furikake sometimes garnishes the mound of white (or brown) grains for that local, seaweed zing.
THE POKE
Photo via Flickr by Jen Russo MauiTime – Taken at Eskimo Candy
Just the main ingredient of a Poke Bowl points to its exceptional goodness. Raw fish is usually not recognized as a favorite food unless you’re a grizzly bear, but call Hawaii a large carnivorous mammal because the state salivates over the chunky bits. And no, it’s not just a pile of sashimi; Poke fish, usually Ahi Tuna (Yellowfin Tuna) is thick. You’d expect a slimy film of fish to contact your taste buds, but the texture and taste is surprisingly refreshing.
Not into uncooked fish flesh? Poke extends to other creatures of the sea, and even ingredients that were never living. Sam Choy prepares avocado and tofu poke and even fries tako poke for those who refuse to put anything in their digestive system with the word “Raw” in its name.
THE SAUCE
Photo via Flickr by Jen Russo MauiTime – Taken at Eskimo Candy
That swirl of mayonnaise on top of the Poke fish serves as more than aesthetics. On a side note, who knew that mayonnaise would ever be acknowledged as an artistic ornament? It’s just another reason why the Poke Bowl is so special. The colorful mixture of sauce makes locals go loco, and that word play wasn’t even cringe-inducing because it’s true. Poke Bowls are also served plain, embellished with good old shoyu and “onions, tomatoes, and chilies.”
This is a simple breakdown, but Poke Bowls are not a homogenous food group. Poke Bowl artists are diverse with their craft. But they all follow Spongebob’s golden rule when it comes to preparing their version of the beloved Krabby Patty: they always use the ingredient of love.
For a more gourmet analysis of the Poke Bowl, check out this Huffington Post article and learn how to construct your own bowl of love.
Photo of Eskimo Candy poke case: Jen Russo
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