Poke Preparation

"Native Hawaiians ate their fish raw, cooked, salted or dried. If the fish was to be eaten raw, it was prepared by mashing the flesh with the fingers (lomi) to soften the meat and allow the salt to penetrate the flesh deeper. If the fish was not soft enough to lomi, it was cut into chunks or slices or left whole. Today, the most popular and contemporary prepared way of eating fish is known as poke. Poke, which means “cut up pieces” in Hawaiian, is chopped up chunks of fish that can be seasoned in a variety of different ways. Some common ways of seasoning include salt, shoyu (soy sauce), limu (seaweed), garlic, and onions. Any type of fish can be used to make poke but ahi (tuna) fish is typically the most desirable option."