'The Poke Paradox'

Poke is the new fish and chips. Or the alternative if you don't want anything fried and greasy. Apparently, the consumption of poke in America is a problem for sustainable fishing; pretty much like what's happening to avocado. It's a relatively new food item that appeared in Hawaii in 2007 or so, and it really took off in the west coast and Las Vegas in 2012.

Writer and journalist Adam Skolnick met Jennifer Bushman, founder of Route To Market and Director of Sustainability at the Bay Area seafood chain Pacific Catch to discuss about how American consumes seafood, and the impact of popular dish, poke. He also visited Hawaii and spoke with the fishermen and the restaurant owners and chefs. It resulted in this essay 'The Poke Paradox', published in Longreads in February 2020. The essay also carried the names of the editor (Krista Stevens), fact-checker (Matt Giles) and copy editor (Jacob Gross).

West Virginia and South Dakota are the only poke-free holdouts, and like in a more familiar institution, the electoral college, Florida (148), New York (157), Texas (155), and California (691) deliver the big numbers. 

Oh, and the names. There’s a long list of poke joints that are actually mispronouncing and/or misspelling their main dish. Here’s looking at you, Okie Pokie, Hoki Poki, PokiRito, Pokay, and Bespoki. Poke Me, I honestly don’t know what to do with you. 

At this point, however, the most notorious name of all is Aloha Poke Co., a Chicago-based chain that not only trademarked “Aloha Poke,” they reportedly sent cease-and-desist letters to restaurants who use “Aloha Poke” in their name or on their menu without their permission, which predictably outraged Native Hawaiians and many others who accused the chain of cultural appropriation. At least one Hawaiian-owned poke shop in Anchorage Alaska was forced to change its name.

Sustainability is a huge issue in Asia too, obviously. We have so much sashimi and sushi. I prefer eating the fish as they are known according to the seasons. But I rarely ask questions about where the chefs source for their fish, especially in Japanese restaurants. They'll all say, 'Hokkaido', or 'Tsukiji Market'. I'll never get the answer I want. I'd have to do my own research for that.

Salmon and avocado poke is ridiculously tasty. Spicy salmon too. I also know it's extravagant cousin, the chirashi-don. In Singapore, I tend to eat poke at home. It's just sesame oil and shoyu, and chilli. But the shops haven't got that mix right. That's because I haven't found any poke brand that marinates their fish the way I want it, seasoned in a super fusion manner with a ton of furikake. I certainly don't get ahi tuna here or albacore tuna. That's cool. I'm not a fan of tuna, and certainly don't care for its prized sections. Our supermarkets offer access to sashimi-grade salmon, yellowtail (wild-caught, hamachi) and swordfish. Those work for me.

Of course the notion of 'plant-based poke' came up. It doesn't use synthetic ingredients, but it's simply a vegetarian bowl with eggplants and mushrooms and whatever else the kitchen could create to boost the menu.

Before we parted ways at Sweetfin, Seth Cohen mentioned that his salmon sales are up and ahi orders declining, but he was most excited about the growing demand for his plant-based poke bowls, which now account for 20 percent of his business. After returning to L.A., I try a couple of them. The miso eggplant and mushroom version is sauced in sesame-shoyu and features slim Japanese eggplants sautéed to melt in your mouth and delicate shimeji mushrooms that offer an al dente crunch. The sweet and spicy ponzu lime sweet potato bowl, featuring steamed sweet potatoes and studded with edamame, had more kick, however, thanks to serrano chiles. Both have me plotting my return.   

“Part of me wants to take tuna off the menu just to see what happens, but it just doesn’t work for this,” Cohen says. “If you’re going to eat tuna once a week I think that’s OK. It’s all about moderation.”