P
Hawaiian
The Pupu Platter — Hawaiian Appetiser Tradition
A selection of small portions of multiple dishes arranged on a shared platter: poke, sashimi, fried items (tempura, won tons), grilled items (chicken skewers), and dipping sauces. The diversity is the point — a good pupu platter represents multiple cultures and multiple textures.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the poke
300 g
sashimi-grade ahi tuna
cut into 2 cm cubes
Your own market
2 tbsp
soy sauce
1 tbsp
sesame oil
Your own market
1
spring onion
finely sliced
Your own market
For the sashimi
200 g
sashimi-grade fish
sliced thin, variety as available
Your own market
For the tempura
200 g
shell-on prawns or mixed vegetables
peeled and prepared for frying
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
120 g
tempura batter
prepared to package or standard proportion
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 litre
neutral oil
for deep-frying
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the won tons
12
won ton wrappers
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
150 g
seasoned pork or prawn filling
finely minced
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the chicken skewers
300 g
boneless chicken thigh
cut into 3 cm pieces and threaded on skewers
Your own market
2 tbsp
1 tbsp
Dipping sauces
60 ml
soy-based dipping sauce
e.g. ponzu or plain soy with ginger
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
60 ml
sweet chilli sauce
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Combine the cubed tuna with soy sauce, sesame oil, and spring onion. Toss gently to coat. Refrigerate until service. The poke is ready when the fish is glossed and aromatic but the cubes hold their shape without weeping excess liquid.
2
Slice the sashimi-grade fish to serving thickness. Arrange on a chilled plate and hold under refrigeration until the moment of plating. The fish must be cold, translucent, and clean-smelling — any ammonia note disqualifies it.
3
Fill and seal the won tons. Heat the neutral oil to frying temperature. Fry the won tons until the wrappers are golden and rigid, then drain. Fry the tempura items in the same oil, working in small batches so the oil temperature does not fall. The batter is done when it is pale gold, dry to the touch, and audibly crisp.
4
Grill the marinated chicken skewers over direct heat, turning once, until the exterior is caramelised and the juices run clear. This is the step that decides the dish: the platter lives or dies on delivering the chicken hot, the fried items crisp, and the raw elements cold simultaneously — a failure of timing collapses the full range of texture and culture that is the platter's sole purpose.
5
Arrange all elements on a single large shared platter — raw poke, sliced sashimi, fried won tons, tempura, and grilled skewers — keeping hot and cold items separated. Set the dipping sauces in small vessels at the platter's edge. The finished platter should present multiple colours, textures, and aromatic registers at a glance.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — House-made poke from day-boat sashimi-grade ahi, freshly sliced sashimi, hot fried items cooked to order, and grilled skewers served together on a single platter — every technique and every Hawaiian culinary tradition represented.
02
Estate — Quality sashimi-grade fish sourced fresh, house-seasoned poke, and a majority of items prepared in-house with at least one hot fried and one grilled element.
03
Market — A mixed platter with some house-prepared items and some quality convenience elements, retaining diversity of technique — raw, cooked, and fried each present.
04
House — All fried items from a freezer, a single technique, a single culinary register — the diversity of technique and culture, which is the whole point, is absent.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Smell. Multiple distinct aromatics rise from the platter at once: clean raw fish, the hot oil of the fried items, and the char of the grilled skewers.
◇Sight. A large shared platter carries visibly distinct small dishes — the full range of colours and forms signals the diversity of technique and culture.
◇Touch. The fried items are rigid and dry-surfaced; the poke and sashimi are cold and yielding; the skewers are firm with caramelised exterior.
◇Taste. Each element presents a distinct flavour register — the soy-sesame of the poke, the clean oceanic note of the sashimi, the crunch and richness of the fried items, the sweet char of the grilled chicken.
◇Where it lives or dies. The platter lives or dies on the balance of cultures and techniques: raw, fresh, fried, and grilled elements must appear together, served simultaneously at their correct temperatures.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Bushmills Malt 10 Year Old
Old Bushmills Distillery · County Antrim — Bushmills Distillery
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Whisky
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
Sourced through Provenance