Poke Bowl — The Modern Format

Ingredients

• For the base
• 400 g short-grain white rice, cooked and kept warm
• For the poke
• 600 g sashimi-grade ahi tuna, cut into 2 cm cubes
• 60 ml soy sauce
• 15 ml sesame oil
• 30 g green onion, thinly sliced
• For the garnish
• 20 g limu kohu or ogo seaweed, rinsed, roughly torn
• 10 g toasted sesame seeds
• 15 g green onion, reserved for finishing

Method

1. 1
   Combine the cubed tuna, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sliced green onion in a bowl. Toss gently to coat every surface. Refrigerate for a minimum of 10 minutes. The poke is ready when it can be tasted alone — without rice, without garnish — and stands as a complete, coherent thing: clean ocean flavour, rounded saltiness, no single element overriding the fish.
2. 2
   Divide the warm cooked rice evenly among four bowls, pressing lightly to form a stable base. The surface should steam visibly; the warmth is structural to the dish.
3. 3
   Spoon the cold poke directly over the warm rice, placing it in a single centred mass rather than stirring it in. The temperature contrast — warm rice beneath, cool poke above — should be immediately apparent on sight: the poke glistens cold against the steaming base.
4. 4
   Finish each bowl with a small mound of limu, a scatter of toasted sesame seeds, and a pinch of green onion. Garnish is minimal. The bowl is done when the toppings do not obscure the poke beneath them.