Poke (Traditional)

Hawaiian Islands — Indigenous Hawaiian tradition predating Western contact; poke was the food of Hawaiian fishermen who ate raw reef fish seasoned with sea salt and seaweed; the contemporary poke bowl (with rice, various toppings) developed from the 1970s onwards in Hawaiian Japanese communities; the global poke bowl trend from 2012 onwards has largely displaced knowledge of the traditional preparation

Hawaiian poke — 'to slice or cut' in Hawaiian — is raw fish (traditionally ahi/yellowfin tuna) cut into cubes and dressed simply with inamona (roasted kukui nut paste), limu kohu (a specific red seaweed), Hawaiian sea salt, and sometimes a splash of soy sauce — is Indigenous Hawaiian food that predates Western contact and now carries the weight of Hawaiian cultural identity in a culinary landscape flooded with mainland interpretations. Traditional poke is not a bowl; it is a preparation — the dressed fish alone, eaten as a snack or shared dish. The inamona and limu provide the specifically Hawaiian flavour signature: the bitter-rich kukui nut oil and the marine-umami seaweed are what distinguish traditional poke from the shoyu-sesame-sriracha-avocado constructions that the mainland poke bowl industry has popularised. Traditional poke represents the Indigenous Hawaiian relationship to the ocean.

• The dressed raw fish concept parallels Peruvian ceviche (acid-dressed rather than salt-dressed), Japanese sashimi (undressed, pure), Tahitian poisson cru (coconut milk-dressed), and Korean hoedeopbap (raw fish rice bowl); the seaweed seasoning connects to Japanese sunomono; the salt-fat-raw fish combination is a Pacific Rim-wide tradition

Eaten as a snack at the beach, at a fish market counter, or at a Hawaiian family gathering; with poi (taro paste) as the traditional starch accompaniment; the traditional poke is not a bowl — the rice/grain/topping format is a Japanese-Hawaiian adaptation; a cold Kona Brewing Company Longboard lager or a local fruit juice pairs naturally with the salt-rich preparation