Hawaiian Poke Bowl
Cubed fresh raw fish (traditionally ahi tuna) marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, green onions, and sesame seeds, served over a bowl of steamed rice with colorful toppings of cucumber, edamame, avocado, seaweed salad, and sriracha mayo. Hawaii's greatest export to mainland American food culture.
foodDetail.ingredients
foodDetail.mainIngredients
- ahi tuna, salmon, or other fish (cubed)
- soy sauce
- sesame oil
- green onions
- sesame seeds
- steamed rice
- cucumber
- edamame
- avocado
- seaweed salad
- sriracha mayo
- pickled ginger
- crispy shallots
foodDetail.whereToEat
Ono Seafood, Honolulu
Foodland Farms poke counter, Honolulu
Any beach shack on Oahu
Sweetfin Poké, Los Angeles (mainland chain)
Pokéworks, nationwide
foodDetail.priceRange
foodDetail.restaurant
$14-24
foodDetail.tips
- In Hawaii, poke is sold by weight at grocery store counters — far more variety and lower prices than mainland restaurants
- Traditional poke is simpler than the bowl concept popularized on the mainland — just fish, soy, sesame, and onion
- The bowl format with rice and multiple toppings is a mainland innovation; Hawaiian poke is traditionally eaten as an appetizer
foodDetail.culturalNotes
Poke (pronounced poh-KAY) means 'to slice or cut crosswise' in Hawaiian. Native Hawaiians have been eating marinated raw fish for centuries — originally seasoned with sea salt, seaweed, and crushed roasted kukui nuts. Japanese plantation workers introduced soy sauce, sesame oil, and green onions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, creating the modern poke. The poke bowl — poke served over rice with various toppings — was popularized on the US mainland in the 2010s and became a food trend of unprecedented scale, spawning thousands of dedicated poke restaurants across the country.