Hawaiian
In its oldest form — the form that predates all foreign contact — poke was reef fish cut into chunks on the canoe, seasoned with paʻakai (Hawaiian sea salt), dressed with limu kohu (a red alga prized for its delicate iodine-rich brine) and inamona (roasted, crushed kukui nut — the same candlenut that thickens curry pastes in Java). No soy sauce. No sesame oil. No rice underneath. Just fish, salt, seaweed, and nut. The ocean, the reef, the tree. Three ingredients from three ecosystems, each one amplifying a different dimension of the fish. Modern poke exists in three classic styles. Hawaiian-style — salt, limu, inamona — is the ancestral preparation and the one closest to the migration thread. Shoyu-style — soy sauce, sesame oil, green onion, ogo seaweed — is the Japanese-influenced version that emerged during the plantation era, and it is arguably the most successful cross-cultural seasoning marriage in Pacific cuisine. Spicy — chili, mayo, sometimes gochujang — is the modern improvisation. The word poke itself only became the standard name in the 1960s or 1970s. Before that, it was simply how fish was eaten. Today, yellowfin tuna (ʻahi) has replaced reef fish as the standard protein, prized for its ruby colour and clean flavour. But on the Big Island, where the connection to traditional fishing culture remains strongest, you will still find poke made the old way: salt, limu, inamona. No soy. No sesame. Just the ocean and the tree.
1. EXCEPTIONAL (Hawaiian-style): Sashimi-grade ʻahi (Thunnus albacares) or aku (Katsuwonus pelamis), caught that morning. Seasoned only with paʻakai (ʻalaea red clay salt preferred), fresh limu kohu, and house-made inamona from kukui nuts roasted in-shell and hand-crushed. The fish tastes like the ocean. The limu adds the brine of the reef where it was gathered. The inamona adds richness without fat — a coating mouthfeel that extends the flavour beyond the initial bite. Served at cool room temperature, not ice-cold, because cold numbs flavour. 2. EXCEPTIONAL (Shoyu-style): Same fish quality. Dressed with quality shoyu (Aloha brand in Hawaiʻi), toasted sesame oil, thinly sliced sweet Maui onion, green onion, and ogo seaweed. Marinated no more than thirty minutes. The fish absorbs seasoning without losing its own character. This is the style that the rest of the world has adopted, though often in unrecognisable form. 3. GOOD: Fresh fish, proper cut, correct seasoning balance, but fish is a day old or previously frozen. The texture loosens and the clean ocean character diminishes. 4. INSUFFICIENT: Mainland-style “poke bowls” drowning in spicy mayo, mango, avocado, edamame, and crispy onions over cold rice. The fish is a passenger, not the driver. This is a salad with raw fish in it, not poke. The distinction matters because poke is a five-thousand-year-old tradition of honouring the fish. The moment you need to disguise the fish with toppings, you have left the tradition.
EXCEPTIONAL (Hawaiian-style): Sashimi-grade ʻahi (Thunnus albacares) or aku (Katsuwonus pelamis), caught that morning. Seasoned only with paʻakai (ʻalaea red clay salt preferred), fresh limu kohu, and house-made inamona from kukui nuts roasted in-shell and hand-crushed. The fish tastes like the ocean. The limu adds the brine of the reef where it was gathered. The inamona adds richness without fat — a coating mouthfeel that extends the flavour beyond the initial bite. Served at cool room temperature, not ice-cold, because cold numbs flavour.
GOOD: Fresh fish, proper cut, correct seasoning balance, but fish is a day old or previously frozen. The texture loosens and the clean ocean character diminishes. INSUFFICIENT: Mainland-style “poke bowls” drowning in spicy mayo, mango, avocado, edamame, and crispy onions over cold rice. The fish is a passenger, not the driver. This is a salad with raw fish in it, not poke. The distinction matters because poke is a five-thousand-year-old tradition of honouring the fish. The moment you need to disguise the fish with toppings, you have left the tradition.
Pacific Migration Trail