I had never heard of tuna poke (pronounced poh-kay) before, but right now it’s the trend food. A staple dish for families and delis alike in Hawaii, tuna poke has made it’s way onto every menu in London it seems. It’s an insanely easy, and extremely healthy dish, with lots of room for experimenting. Here’s my quick and healthy tuna poke recipe.
To serve 4
- 1KG of fresh tuna steak, cubed into 1/4 inch – make sure the tuna is fresh as it can possibly be as that makes a huge impact on the quality of this dish. Yellowfin tuna works really well for this dish.
- 225ml of soy sauce
- Chopped spring onion – at least 3, but you can add more if you like
- 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds
- Chilli flakes – as much or little as you like
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Put everything in the bowl and mix, serve immediately.
No really, it’s that simple.
Variations
This recipe is brilliant because it’s so flexible. The number of variations I’ve seen of it makes me think there are infinite possibilities. The most common addition I’ve seen is avocado chunks, which I would never say no to, because avocado is delicious and super healthy.
The tuna can be replaced with salmon, if you prefer salmon like I do. You could leave the tuna and add the salmon anyway. You could leave the tuna, add the salmon and add the avocado. Serious party mode there.
If you’re vegetarian, or vegan, you can replace the tuna with tofu. If you have a seed allergy, then you can replace the sesame oil and sesame seeds, if you don’t have nut allergy walnut oil works well, but if you are allergic to all nuts then a light olive oil will work as well.
I’ve added chopped seaweed to my dishes before which can give it a nice Japanese influence.
I also often include a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, because I think the slight sour touch really cuts through and gives the dish a more refreshing taste.
Once you’ve got the basic recipe down, you can play around and experiment with the dish as much as you like. Eat it as it is, or serve it on rice or on toast – it goes well with both!
A super quick and healthy tuna poke recipe is always a great option to bring to barbecues or potluck. Have fun trying this recipe out and leave a comment with your favourite variation.