K-girl got me interested in poke and then the Feb 2017 Bon Appetit had several recipes so we decided to try some of them. I've also added in subs and comments for those not familiar with Asian ingredients and a few tips on going to the Asian market at the bottom.
The first one we tried was this: Fluke with Rice and Onions Recipe | Bon Appetit
We both LOVED this dish. I did have to order the white soy sauce, also known as shoyu. It is a Japanese soy sauce and is lighter in color and lighter, sweeter tasting than what you find in the grocery. You could probably sub out 2/3 regular soy with water to make up the remainder plus a few grains of sugar if you want to try the recipe before buying anything that's not readily available. If you have an Asian market, you can check into it, but we have a very large one that serves a large Asian community and they did not carry it (unless we just missed it, there's so many choices). Nori is the seaweed used to wrap sushi and should be in the ethnic food section of any decent sized grocery.
Last night we tried Shrimp Poke With Pickled Radishes recipe | Epicurious.com . It was EXTREMELY spicy. I'd cut down at least half on the gochujang (which should be in any oriental market, it comes in red plastic boxes). Gochujang is used a lot in Korean cooking, kimchi, bibimbap (which we love and have posted on here about). I'd also cut down a bit on the salt called for in the recipe. I also subbed out wakame for the hijiki since it was more affordable and it can be found in the Asian market. You could also just go with the toasted nori as above.
We intend to try Yellowtail with Noodles Recipe | Bon Appetit . When they call for yellowtail, I'm pretty sure they mean yellowfin tuna going from what the picture looks like. It's a bit confusing because we have yellowtail snapper on the east coast, but it's a much lighter, almost white fish. I will sub out the wakame again for the seaweed or use the toasted nori called for in the first poke. Mirin is a rice cooking wine that has been slightly sweetened and salted. You could sub out some saki with a teeny tiny bit of sugar and salt if needed. All Asian markets will have the bean thread noodles, also called cellophane or glass noodles. We love those, have a Thai recipe that uses them for a noodle soup with chicken broth and pork meatballs, one of Craig's favs.
There are also recipes for salmon and tofu poke, but Craig doesn't like salmon and neither of us are big fans of tofu.
Hints for the Oriental market:
Don't be in a rush. If it's any size at all market, there will be many, many choices and it will be confusing.
Take your smartphone so you can look up pictures of the packaging as you shop or do it at home before you go and jot down notes about what things look like (2 or 3 different brands). It's a lot easier looking for pictures/labels than trying to read all those confusing (to non-Asians) names.
Don't expect help like you can get in Publix or Kroger or Winn Dixie. First, the employees may not speak or read (shopping list) English at all or very little if they do. Second, some, but not all, apparently just don't want to be bothered with non-Asians in our experience, which is a shame because we've had to walk out without buying anything from some markets and have then gone elsewhere to get what we needed. Just saying, give them a chance, but don't be expecting help. We've also, on occasion, asked for help from other shoppers, especially younger ones, that speak English and have been lucky that we've asked people that are willing and happy to help.
The first one we tried was this: Fluke with Rice and Onions Recipe | Bon Appetit
We both LOVED this dish. I did have to order the white soy sauce, also known as shoyu. It is a Japanese soy sauce and is lighter in color and lighter, sweeter tasting than what you find in the grocery. You could probably sub out 2/3 regular soy with water to make up the remainder plus a few grains of sugar if you want to try the recipe before buying anything that's not readily available. If you have an Asian market, you can check into it, but we have a very large one that serves a large Asian community and they did not carry it (unless we just missed it, there's so many choices). Nori is the seaweed used to wrap sushi and should be in the ethnic food section of any decent sized grocery.
Last night we tried Shrimp Poke With Pickled Radishes recipe | Epicurious.com . It was EXTREMELY spicy. I'd cut down at least half on the gochujang (which should be in any oriental market, it comes in red plastic boxes). Gochujang is used a lot in Korean cooking, kimchi, bibimbap (which we love and have posted on here about). I'd also cut down a bit on the salt called for in the recipe. I also subbed out wakame for the hijiki since it was more affordable and it can be found in the Asian market. You could also just go with the toasted nori as above.
We intend to try Yellowtail with Noodles Recipe | Bon Appetit . When they call for yellowtail, I'm pretty sure they mean yellowfin tuna going from what the picture looks like. It's a bit confusing because we have yellowtail snapper on the east coast, but it's a much lighter, almost white fish. I will sub out the wakame again for the seaweed or use the toasted nori called for in the first poke. Mirin is a rice cooking wine that has been slightly sweetened and salted. You could sub out some saki with a teeny tiny bit of sugar and salt if needed. All Asian markets will have the bean thread noodles, also called cellophane or glass noodles. We love those, have a Thai recipe that uses them for a noodle soup with chicken broth and pork meatballs, one of Craig's favs.
There are also recipes for salmon and tofu poke, but Craig doesn't like salmon and neither of us are big fans of tofu.
Hints for the Oriental market:
Don't be in a rush. If it's any size at all market, there will be many, many choices and it will be confusing.
Take your smartphone so you can look up pictures of the packaging as you shop or do it at home before you go and jot down notes about what things look like (2 or 3 different brands). It's a lot easier looking for pictures/labels than trying to read all those confusing (to non-Asians) names.
Don't expect help like you can get in Publix or Kroger or Winn Dixie. First, the employees may not speak or read (shopping list) English at all or very little if they do. Second, some, but not all, apparently just don't want to be bothered with non-Asians in our experience, which is a shame because we've had to walk out without buying anything from some markets and have then gone elsewhere to get what we needed. Just saying, give them a chance, but don't be expecting help. We've also, on occasion, asked for help from other shoppers, especially younger ones, that speak English and have been lucky that we've asked people that are willing and happy to help.
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