Norecipes - Elevating Everyday Meals

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Start Here
  • Recipes
  • Ingredients
  • About
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Start Here
  • Recipes
  • Ingredients
  • About
×
Home ► Recipes ► American

Tuna Poke

Updated: 10.18.23 | Marc Matsumoto | 9 Comments

4.50 from 2 votes
A classic Hawaiian Ahi Poke with big chunks of tuna marinated with sesame oil, sweet onions, seaweed, candlenuts and Alaea salt. It makes for a delicious appetizer on its own or a delightful meal over a bowl of rice.
Recipe

Tuna Poke or Ahi Poke (pronounced poh-keh) is one of my all-time favorite dishes. With velvety cubes of Yellowfin tuna glazed in fragrant sesame oil and chilies, crisp sweet onions, and toothsome seaweed, it's a smile-inducing medley of colors, textures and flavors. The thing that really sets this dish off, though, is a generous sprinkle of nutty inamona on top.

Inamona is a delicious condiment made with roasted candlenuts and Alaea salt. The candlenuts when roasted take on an earthy-citrusy-evergreen flavor, along with a subtle bitterness, which perfectly complements the raw fish, and the large crystals of Alaea salt provide a crunchy burst of sodium with every bite. Candlenuts are often compared to macadamia nuts because of their similar shape and texture, but their taste is quite different. That's why I recommend using pine nuts as the closest substitute if you can't find them where you live.

For my Tuna Poke, I like to add sesame seeds to my inamona. It's not traditional, but I like the nutty flavor they add when toasted with the candlenuts. I also roast the nuts after I've chopped them. I like to make the inamona fresh every time I make this Ahi Poke recipe, and it just doesn't make sense to oven roast whole nuts when you're only doing a few.

Alaea salt is a Hawaiian sea salt made by mixing unrefined salt crystals with red volcanic clay. This gives the large grains of salt its characteristic rusty red hue. While you should be able to find it in upscale kitchen stores and online, it's not going to ruin the dish if you substitute another salt. Fleur de Sel would be my recommendation, but really any coarse sea salt will do.

As for the seaweed, limu kohu is the traditional choice, but it's impossible to find outside of Hawaii, which is why I used the closest thing I could find here in Japan, which was red funori. You're probably not going to find fresh funori in the US, so go with whatever you can find. Worst case scenario you can order a dried seaweed salad mix like this one

You should only use tuna that's sold as "sushi grade" or "sashimi grade." This certifies that the fish has been prepared for eating raw. You can read more about seafood safety here. When choosing your tuna, look for pole-caught tuna. It's not only the most environmentally friendly way of catching tuna, it's also the safest as it tends to yield younger tuna which have a lower mercury content. Also, try and pick a piece without (or with as little as possible) white streaks in it. These streaks are the aquatic equivalent to the tough silver skin on meat, and will leave you chewing your tuna far longer than you want to.

Other Tuna Recipes

  • Spicy Tuna Rolls
  • Tuna Mayo Onigiri
  • Lemon Tuna Steaks
  • Tuna Tartare with Yuzu Gelée

📖 Recipe

Tuna Poke

4.50 from 2 votes
Print Pin
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 5 minutes mins
Total Time 15 minutes mins
Yield 4 serving

Units

Ingredients 

  • 25 grams candlenuts
  • 5 grams toasted sesame seeds (2 teaspoons)
  • 1 teaspoon Alaea salt
  • 40 grams sweet Maui onion (~¼ onion) or other sweet variety
  • 4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon sambal oelek (or other Asian hot sauce)
  • 380 grams Ahi tuna (Bigeye or Yellowfin, cubed)
  • 50 grams seaweed
  • 1 scallion (green onion, finely chopped)

Instructions

  • To make the inamona, chop the candlenuts into small pebble sized pieces. Put the chopped candlenuts and sesame seeds in a cast iron pan over medium high heat and toast them until they turn a medium brown color. You'll want to stir them constantly to make sure they brown evenly. When the nuts are brown, add the Alaea salt and stir to combine.
  • Transfer the nuts onto a sheet of foil in a thin layer to let them cool.
  • Slice the onions thinly and then soak them for at least 1 hour in a medium bowl of cold water with a teaspoon of baking soda. The baking soda neutralizes the volatile sulfur compounds that make raw onions so pungent, leaving you with crisp sweet onions, without the tear-inducing sting. When you're ready to use them, drain and rinse them well and spin them in a salad spinner to remove the extra water.
  • To make the Tuna Poke, whisk the sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar and hot sauce together. Add the tuna, seaweed, and onions and stir to combine.
  • Top the Poke with the chopped scallions, and inamona. Serve with rice, if desired.
Recipes in your inboxDon't miss out SIGN UP!

Comments

    4.50 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




  1. Linda says

    September 08, 2019 at 8:12 pm

    Any substitutes for the sambal oelek? I read that it has a shrimp base and I have a shellfish allergy.

    Reply
    • Marc Matsumoto says

      September 08, 2019 at 9:26 pm

      Hi Linda, the Sambal Oelek I use does not include shrimp, but some may include it so check the label. As for substitutes any Asian chili sauce(i.e. not vinegar based) should work fine.

      Reply
  2. Dan Powell says

    May 09, 2015 at 12:05 am

    Thanks! It seems that any recipe calling for them cooks them, so that makes a lot of sense. (I'm finding Indonesian curries.) Cheers.

    Reply
  3. Marc Matsumoto says

    May 08, 2015 at 11:50 pm

    Hi Dan, because of the high fat content in candlenuts they tend to go rancid faster than other nuts. I usually store mine in a double layer of freezer bags in the freezer.

    Reply
  4. Dan Powell says

    May 08, 2015 at 10:23 pm

    Gorgeous recipe, btw. I've never been to Hawaii, yet another reason to go!

    Reply
  5. Dan Powell says

    May 08, 2015 at 6:15 pm

    Marc, any tips on storing candlenuts? I can only buy them in 250 g packets here.

    Reply
  6. kathleenditommaso says

    June 23, 2014 at 3:56 am

    Ono, Marc, ono!

    Reply
  7. Rodeojones says

    June 22, 2014 at 2:55 pm

    One of my favorite reasons to visit Hawaii is the poke...aside from the sun, waves, people, and scenery. Great read and photos.

    Reply
  8. kathleenditommaso says

    May 12, 2013 at 3:50 am

    Salt info & tuna poke. And you lived in San Jose too boot (a bit of Hawaiian stuff here). Seriously need you to be in Hawaii to get your take on Asian/Hawaiian recipes! I wait w/bated hungry breath.

    Reply
Marc Matsumoto

Welcome!

I’m Marc Matsumoto, a former chef raising a family in Tokyo, Japan. I believe anyone can become a great cook with the right ingredients and a few techniques, so I created No Recipes to help you unlock your culinary potential!

Start Here

Check out my member site for access to my secret stash of easy original recipes that I cook for my family!

Take a Peak →

Trending Recipes

  • A plate of homemade Japanese yakisoba (stir-fried ramen noodles) with pork cabbage, onions and benishoga (red pickled ginger).
    Yakisoba
  • Closeup of a plate of homemade California rolls filled with crab, avocado and cucumber wrapped in tangy sushi rice and nori.
    California Roll
  • Black Pepper Beef is a classic Chinese stir-fry made with beef, onions, and peppers.
    Black Pepper Beef
  • With spaghetti and spicy cod roe in a creamy sauce, this Mentaiko Pasta is a classic Japanese-Italian mashup that's as easy to make as it is delicous.
    Creamy Mentaiko Pasta
  • Salmon Onigiri split in half showing tender salted salmon flakes wrapped in a fluffy layer of Japanese short grain rice.
    Salmon Onigiri
  • Easy onigiri rice ball recipe stuffed with a delicious mix of canned tuna, mayonnaise and soy sauce.
    Tuna Mayo Onigiri

Trending Categories

  • Easy Japanese Recipes
  • Ramen
  • Summer
  • Japanese (Modern)
  • Japanese (Traditional)
  • Japanese (Chinese)

Footer

About

  • About
  • Help Me
  • Hire Me
  • Photography
  • FAQs

Connect

  • Email Updates
  • Contact

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Copyright © 2024 Marc Matsumoto. All rights reserved

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Reddit
  • Flipboard

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.