Poke (pronounced “po-kay”) is the blanket term for raw seafood prepared Hawaiian-style. A close culinary relative of ceviche and poisson cru, poke is most commonly made with yellowfin tuna, although it can also be made with just about any other edible fish or crustacean. It’s delicious as a side dish or appetizer, whether you’re dining out in Hawaii or mixing it up it your own kitchen.

Poke 101
In September 2002 I was lucky enough to learn how to prepare poke from the master himself, legendary island chef Sam Choy. It was the day before the 11th annual Sam Choy Poke Festival, held on the Island of Hawaii, and I spent the morning in a “Poke 101” class at the beautiful Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel with a group of writers from local papers and the mainland.

As I sat down to prepare my first poke dish, I felt like the luckiest guy in the world--hanging out on the Big Island’s magnificent Kohala coast and learning the secrets of island cuisine from Sam Choy, the biggest personality (and quite possibly the biggest person) in all of Hawaiian cooking. But my skepticism set in when the limpets came out. Yes, limpets. Those crustaceany things you studied in oceanography. The oval-shaped shell you see is actually a protective lid under which lives a rubbery and tenacious little critter. This delicacy, known in Hawaii as opihi, can cost more than $100 a pound. Opihi farming on the Hawaiian coast is lucrative, but so treacherous that it’s not unusual for a few locals to die in the line of duty each year, crushed into the rocks or swept out to sea by the pounding surf.

But back to my poke class. After throwing a bit of salt, ogo (Hawaiian seaweed), and chili pepper into the mix, I used my chopsticks to select a single opihi and pop it into my mouth. My first reaction: It’s chewy. My second reaction: It tastes like a mouthful of sea foam. Over the next few minutes I ate about five opihi, partly in an effort to be polite, and partly because I was hoping the taste and consistency would grow on me (they didn’t). Sam Choy seemed to like my recipe, but then again he seemed to enjoy everyone’s recipe as only a real culinary diplomat could.

Next, after a big swig of Coors Light, was a raw lobster-tail dish. This was a slightly more complicated recipe including diced cucumber, red bell pepper, and inamona (ground kakui nut) along with the requisite Hawaiian salt (a local specialty something like kosher salt), sesame oil, and chili pepper. At first taste it was bland and almost too raw--even for me. But I corrected this problem by adding more salt, which not only added flavor, but also cured the meat.

For our final dish we prepared a complex raw-oyster poke, adding Maui onion, sesame seeds, fresh ginger, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar to the mix. This one was good. Oyster-slurpalicious, in fact.

With a belly full of raw sea creatures I thanked Sam Choy, had him sign a copy of his latest cookbook (Sam Choy's Polynesian Kitchen), and headed out for an afternoon of sightseeing in North Kohala and the artsy town of Hawi. In case you’re wondering, I felt fine.

The Contest
Early the next morning I headed to the Hapuna Ballroom to watch the Poke Contest entrants setting up poke displays on their allotted areas of tabletop. Presentation is key, and each contestant approached the visual aspect of his or her entry with a unique flair. Miniature volcanoes spouting real fire, tiny waterfalls pumping with real water, and all sorts of decorations from Tahitian carved coconuts to sea shell-laced fishing nets adorned the poke displays. I even saw one man caramelizing his bite-size poke servings with a blowtorch.

Later that morning, after the judging was completed behind closed doors, I returned to the ballroom for the awards ceremony, hosted by local funnyman Rodney Villanueva. But before the awards were doled out, this year’s guests were treated to a new event: the first annual Celebrity Poke Competition (à la Iron Chef), featuring local TV and radio personalities and chefs from some of Hawaii’s best restaurants. With just five minutes to whip up its best poke dish, each celebrity-chef duo chopped, spiced, and mixed at a frenzied pace while cameras rolled, capturing the action on a big projection screen for the audience to see.

Following the celebrity event, awards for the official Poke Contest were presented. $18,000 in prizes was awarded to contestants competing in professional and non-professional categories. The big winner in the professional competition was Ryan Vargas, senior sous chef at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. In the non-professional competition, Jason Wood took first prize.