HAWAIIAN POKE (“po-kay”) is a mixture of island style flavours with Asian and sushi influences.

Introduced on my first summer course for this year-A taste of 2018-this was one of the most popular dishes ever served and I received regular SMS pictures from eager cooks, who served this nutritional bowl to their families with fabulous feedback. The flavours carry that same sushi-like addiction, making this bowl popular to serve on 2 or 3 consecutive evenings, especially as you can utilise leftovers, both raw and cooked.

Building your own Poke bowl is very flexible.

Choose a base: Black rice, sushi rice, brown rice, soba noodles or leafy greens like kale and red cabbage
Choose a protein: Cubed raw fish like tuna, salmon, cubed cooked tofu, cubed or sliced smoked chicken or grilled rump or cooked prawns
Choose a dressing: Use a base of ponzu, black bean, tahini, sriracha, soy, wasabi, mayo
Choose fresh fruit and or veg: Avocado, melon, onions, bean sprouts, edamame, radish, mango, carrots, peppers, pineapple, fresh herbs like coriander and mint
Choose texture: Nuts, seeds, spices, nori
Choose some heat: Wasabi, chillies, jalapenos
Choose a pickle: Ginger, mushrooms, red onions, carrots, cucumber, cauliflower (see a quick and easy pickled carrot recipe below, which can be adapted to pickle these)

The reason for the popularity of this dish was my dressing-one which was made up after just 4 tests. While Tahini is hardly Asian, the nuttiness adds a satay-like element and adds richness to the raw vegetables. Don’t even try this bowl without it.

Make these in advance and keep covered in the fridge.