Poke Bowls

Last year, my brother returned from a trip to Hawaii and talked not about the dramatic cliffs of Kauai or the striated sunsets over the Pacific, but about the Ahi Poke. “Let’s make it,” he texted in anticipation of his weekend visit to our house. A few minutes later, another text: This time just a recipe link.

I had never made poke — in fact, I had never eaten it. The dish — raw marinated cubes of tuna — seems like one of those things you should try for the first time in its place of origin, and eating a version of it in, say, a suburb of New York 5,000 miles from Hawaii just wouldn’t quite be the same. (I always think of our college friend Luke, who routinely refused bottles of Guinness because he was saving his first sip for his first trip to Ireland. “There’s only one place that is going to happen,” he told me when he was a senior, then threw back a Knickerbocker. #Massachusetts)

But the Poke recipe my brother sent looked simple enough and it was basically salty, umami-crazy Japanese food, so I knew it was the kind of thing the kids would love. I hit my favorite Asian market in the strip mall two towns over — as noted, a far cry from Kauai — and procured some sushi grade tuna. My brother showed up with the rest of the ingredients and we put our poke together in about five minutes. This was approximately four and a half minutes longer than it took the five of us to ravage the delicate little starter like a pack of wild dogs. Good thing there was pasta on the menu later.

Ever since then, I feel like the Richard Dreyfuss character in “Close Encounters” — remember how everywhere he went, he saw that strange Devil’s Tower mountain shape? Well, my Devil’s Tower* officially became Ahi Poke. Everywhere I go, every social media platform I browse, every newspaper I read, every cookbook I open up, there it is. Apparently, it’s even merited a trend piece in The New York Times. So I did what any longtime DALS employee would do: I looked at all the versions out there and figured out a way to turn it into a meal that would satisfy the particular brand of hunger that results from a U12 hard-fought soccer match in Long Island. (Code for: They got decimated.) That means rice, avocado, loads of vegetables. I got the Furikake and Shiso inspiration from Gwyneth Paltrow’s newest book It’s All Easy (an amazingly inspiring collection, by the way) which provided a simple significant upgrade, but both are optional. Also, I feel I should mention that the meal elicited the much-coveted review: “I Could Eat Like This Every Night.” Me too! If only it weren’t for little things called mercury, endangered fish, and money. It is cheaper than a trip to Kauai though.

Poke Bowls

Rice
2 cups Japonica or short-grain sushi rice, rinsed well under cold water
4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt

Poke
3/4 pound sashimi grade tuna (or about 3 to 4 ounces per person) minced into bite-size cubes as shown
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

Add-ons
2 Japanese cucumbers, cubed
1 avocado, cubed
1 bunch scallions, light green and white parts only, minced
1 to 2 shiso leaves (optional), chopped into thin ribbons (like basil)
Crumbled dried seaweed or Furikake (Japanese seasoning usually made with seaweed, sesame, and salt — look for ones without MSG)

Cook rice as directed. Remove from heat. While the rice is cooking, place the vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and cook until the sugar and salt have dissolved, about one minute. Drizzle the seasoned vinegar into the hot rice slowly, tossing as you go. You should have four cups of sticky rice.

While the rice is cooking, toss the tuna with the soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Chill in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. When ready to eat, heap rice into bowls, divide tuna on top, and have diners choose their favorite toppings.

*Though I remember some scenes in that movie like I saw it yesterday, I did not remember that it was called Devil’s Tower. Had to look that up.