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Poke, pronounced PO-keh, is a Hawaiian dish traditionally made by mixing diced, raw tuna with limu seaweed and inamona, a condiment of candlenuts and salt.
Raw fish is nothing new, but poke—a hyper-regional Hawaiian dish of diced, uncooked fish with local seasonings—is breaking out from its island base in a big way.
Poke is sweeping the nation, and the dish is showing remarkable versatility as an appetizer, a light meal and even as the basis for entirely new restaurant concepts. The reason for poke’s sudden popularity could be its health halo, or its customizable nature. But there’s no question that at the moment, this raw dish is hot.
“I think there’s a phenomenon going on right now [around poke],” said Carlito Jocson, executive chef of Yard House, a 66-unit casual-dining chain based in Irvine, Calif. “It’s become part of the food culture right now, and something people are really gravitating toward.”
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About the Author
Nick Powills, CFE, founded No Limit Agency in 2008 and serves as Chief Brand Strategist for the Chicago-based firm. No Limit is a full-service communications agency that establishes and elevates brands by bridging Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Digital, and a lot of creativity, to best strategize well-rounded and successful campaigns for 50+ global franchise brands. By presenting visionary ideas and building real relationships, No Limit is able to create effective media branding strategies to help companies grow. Nick currently leads a staff of writers, media strategists, designers, social media experts and digital producers in an office think-tank where brands are humanized for strong, compelling media stories. Prior to starting No Limit at the age of 27, Nick spent four years working at a franchise PR agency where he mastered the art of building rapport with media outlets and creating newsworthy pitches for earned media placements. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Drake University in Iowa.
