Date of publication 12/03/2018
Healthy recipes Poké Bowl, the exotic dish that conquered the world
Healthy poke bowl recipes, a fresh, versatile, and flavorful dish to help you take care of yourself while traveling and enjoy every destination.
Poké bowls have everything people love, provided you like raw fish, of course. They come in a bowl, and we all know that bowls are the new trendy way to serve food. They are colorful, quick to eat and also easy to prepare if you feel like making one yourself. They look great on Instagram and fit perfectly into a healthy diet. You could think of them as deconstructed sushi, but there is much more history behind them.
The fact that poké has become one of the biggest food discoveries of recent years has had a side effect: restaurants devoted to this specialty have multiplied across Spain, each offering its own variations and original ideas. Wherever you go, you are likely to find places experimenting with the recipe. These restaurants share the same international, modern character as the poké bowl itself. And wherever you try it, it is always better to know the story behind what you are eating.
WHAT IS IT?
Poké, pronounced “POH-keh,” is a dish that began with very humble origins in Hawaii and eventually became part of the islands’ culinary identity. Today, its popularity has crossed borders and it is eaten all over the world, from New York to Madrid. Poké means “to cut crosswise into pieces,” which in culinary terms literally means raw fish cut into cubes.
That is where everything started. Over time, different cultures and food trends introduced additional ingredients such as rice, soy sauce and sesame oil, the latter two coming from Japanese cuisine. “It’s the new generation of sushi, but easier to eat.” That is how California chef Dakota Weiss describes it.
She serves it at her Sweetfin Poké restaurant in Los Angeles. The city was one of the first places outside Hawaii to embrace the dish, quickly incorporating it into local eating habits because it is quick, healthy, colorful and photogenic, qualities that have become almost essential for turning a recipe into a trend.
IS THERE SUCH A THING AS AN AUTHENTIC POKÉ BOWL?
To start with, there are two main options: raw fish on its own, or raw fish served over rice. What type of fish is used? More freedom has been introduced over time, but the most common choice is undoubtedly ahi, or yellowfin tuna. Traditionally, it is accompanied simply by limu, a type of seaweed from the Hawaiian coast, crushed kukui nuts and Hawaiian sea salt.
Whether or not additional ingredients are added, Hawaiians, much like the Japanese with sushi, agree on one essential ingredient when it comes to recognizing a good poké: fresh, high-quality fish. That is the key. Once you have that, everything else comes down to creativity.
POKÉ BOWLS AROUND THE WORLD
The summer of 2016 was the summer of poké on both coasts of the United States. Los Angeles first, followed by New York, became obsessed with these bowls of raw fish, which combined a passion for uncooked seafood with the desire for affordable, healthy food.
According to Foursquare, the number of venues in the United States serving poké increased from 342 to 700 between 2014 and 2016. Google searches for “poké bowl” rose by 355% in a single year.
These huge figures reflected just how viral the dish had become, helped along by social media. And the trend showed no signs of slowing down. New poké restaurants continued to appear. The same happened in Spain, where the dish arrived a little later but quickly gained popularity.
In Madrid, for example, restaurants have opened that are dedicated entirely to the Hawaiian dish. Aloha Poké, in the Chueca neighborhood, brought the concept over from California, where its owners had lived and fallen in love with these bowls. Its menu includes ready-made recipes, but customers can also create their own combination of ingredients.
There is even a fish-free version made with tofu, an increasingly popular choice among vegetarians.
Another more recent arrival is Hawaiian Urban Poké, which follows a similar formula and brings some of the spirit of California’s beaches to Madrid.
In Barcelona there is no need to imagine the beach atmosphere, and Poké Maoli was one of the pioneers in bringing this fast-food alternative to the city.
If the options here continue to multiply, in cities such as New York and Miami they are almost endless. In New York, in particular, where food trends can appear and disappear in a single day, the poké bowl has lasted because it is healthy, quick and varied, while also offering reasonably priced options. It is Instagram-friendly too, of course, although a true New Yorker might care somewhat less about that.
Among the places that regularly appear on lists of the city’s best poké bowls and have even won the approval of Hawaiians are Noreetuh, Chikarashi and 2nd City, which combines poké with Filipino influences. You could follow an entire poké restaurant trail through New York without eating the same recipe twice. At Noreetuh, the tuna poké bowl is particularly recommended.
At Chikarashi, the bestseller is the Sichuan Chili Salmon Bowl, a spicy version with Japanese influences. What makes 2nd City different is that the rice is marinated with coconut, giving it a distinctive flavor. There is also Sons of Thunder, where avocado is used generously to add extra creaminess and color to the dish.
At Maui Onion, another good choice is the Spicy Tuna Bowl, made with spicy tuna and a subtle hint of orange. In Miami, the growth of Hawaiian restaurants has been even more dramatic in recent years. The city went from having very few of them to making poké bowls a familiar part of its food scene. Interestingly, many are concentrated in some of the city’s most dynamic emerging neighborhoods, such as trendy Wynwood or the more upscale Brickell. Examples include PokéBao, which, as its name suggests, combines two trends: poké and bao buns; Poké 305, which offers a more traditional approach; and Kai – Poke Shop, a favorite thanks to the freshness and quality of its ingredients.
RECIPES
Before trying some combinations of your own, there is one important thing to know: a poké bowl is traditionally eaten with the rice still warm and the fish cold.
The classic: Shoyu Ahi Poké Bowl
Diced ahi tuna
Finely chopped yellow onion
Sesame oil
Soy sauce
Salt
Rice
Mix everything together and eat immediately. A little spice can be added if desired. Other ingredients that work well include avocado, quinoa as an alternative to rice, cucumber, carrots, a little garlic or cilantro. You can be as creative as you like. The worst that can happen is that a Hawaiian asks you not to call it poké.
The vegetarian option: Spicy Tofu Poké Bowl
Chili garlic sauce
Sesame oil
Soy sauce
Ginger
Tofu
Seaweed
Green onion
Rice
Mix the diced tofu with the onion and seaweed and leave it to marinate for 15 minutes. Then serve it over rice to taste.
