It is true…I have been diagnosed with a serious case of homesickness. Being far away from home for a great amount of time, I’ve experienced things I have never felt before. Of course, I miss my home and my family, but my greatest withdraw is the food. At home, my all-time favorite thing to do is go to the valley and sit in the river with a shoyu poke bowl, a bag of Maui onion chips, poi, and my aloe tea.
Now, I know I am not going to find a nice river to bask in the middle of Florence. The closest I can get to feeling at home is a poke bowl. Poke bowls are something universal, but I like to believe that its origin began in the local culture of Hawaiʻi. Poke is diced raw fish that is normally mixed with sauces and toppings. There are many different varieties of poke like Spicy Ahi, Oyster Shoyu, Hawaiian Style, Tako (Octopus), or California. You can order by the pound or by the bowl with white rice, brown rice, or hapa rice. Hapa means half and hapa rice is half white rice and half brown rice.
Everyone always has their favorites. My go-to poke bowl is the Ahi Shoyu with white rice and furikake. When I am feeling good and have extra money, I buy a bag or container of poi. Stores normally sell the poi next to the poke because they understand that they go hand in hand. An Ahi (yellowfin tuna) Shoyu poke bowl is raw tuna mixed with shoyu (soy sauce), sea salt, green onions, and Maui onions.
My second favorite is between the Hawaiian Style poke and California poke. Hawaiian Style poke is simply perfect. There is no sauce mixed with the fish just limu (seaweed), onions, and a pinch of Hawaiian salt. The California poke bowl is a combination of Imitation crab meat, cucumbers, avocados, mayonnaise, and raw fish. It’s a California sushi roll but in a bowl. Normally when I go out with my friends we buy a half-pound of each of our favorites, a container of poi, and a bag of chips.
Lately, to satisfy my poke cravings I’ve been eating a lot of seafood pasta and sushi. I have yet to find a poke bowl place here in Firenze and see if it meets this Hawaiʻi girl standard. Although many poke bowl shops are popular for their beautiful aesthetics, the best poke bowls are the ones in the black containers and clear lid with a weight sticker on the top, and of course made with aloha.
kaiusrootz 