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1
Pack the salmon fillet on all surfaces with the paʻakai. Place in a non-reactive dish, cover, and refrigerate for twelve to twenty-four hours. The cure is complete when the flesh has firmed throughout and darkened slightly in colour — press the thickest point; it should feel uniformly dense and offer no soft give.
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2
Remove the salmon from the cure. Rinse thoroughly under cold water to remove all surface salt. Pat dry. Dice into rough 1 cm pieces — uniformity is not the objective. Combine the diced salmon, tomatoes, Maui sweet onion, and green onion in a wide, deep bowl.
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3
This is where the dish lives or dies. Work the mixture by hand — not with a spoon, not with a spatula — squeezing and pressing the ingredients together repeatedly between the palms and fingers. Continue until the salmon fibres have partially broken down into irregular flakes, the tomato has released its juice, and a light pinkish brine pools at the base of the bowl. No single ingredient should stand apart. The preparation is done when the eye cannot locate a discrete piece of tomato or onion — only a cohesive, unified mass of pink-coral fish, red flecks, and softened allium.
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4
Taste for salt. The cure will carry the dish; additional paʻakai should be needed only in correction. The finish must be clean and bright — salt first, tomato acidity second, salmon sweetness third, onion bite last. Transfer to a serving vessel. A light pinkish brine pooling at the base is correct. Serve immediately alongside poi.