We’ve heard of Poke, but we’ve never tried it. Have you? Poke means to “cut and slice” in Hawaiian. My husband pronounces it as “poke” but it’s really pronounced as POH-keh. I have seen a couple of Poke restaurants popping up in Maryland, but have never tried it, which is shocking because my family all the way down to the six year old loves sushi.
While we were out in Maui, we have a local poke restaurant and decided to give it try. Because why not? We went to Maui Poke the Whaler’s Village in Ka’anapali Beach. I watched with interest as the ladies put together Poke bowls, poked my husband, and said, “Hey! That looks like a deconstructed sushi roll in a bowl.” It is. That’s pretty much what it is. It’s deconstructed sushi. It’s all of my favorite ingredients in a bowl. It reminded me much of my favorite burrito bowls, but with fish and rice instead of barbacoa and rice.
Poke (pronounced POH-keh) means to “slice or cut” in Hawaiian and refers to chunks of raw, marinated meat—usually tuna—which is then tossed over rice and topped with vegetables and sauces. At Maui Poke, we build on this traditional dish, offering our own unique assortment of protein options, toppings, and spices. We utilize the highest quality ingredients including fresh fish and local produce when possible”—Maui Poke
The layout at Maui Poke makes it easy to put together your bowl. Or if you’re a newbie like me and have no idea what you’re doing, they have their own menu creations and you just ask for that. I decided on the Shrimp Tempura bowl because I panicked and went with what I know instead of being adventurous. I’m not disappointed in my choice, it was still delicious and it gives me a chance to explore my options new now that I understand the poke bowl better.
My Shrimp Tempura didn’t have anything raw. This is the perfect bowl for someone who may like seafood, but not necessarily sushi. The shrimp tempura is fried and is accompanied by imitation crab, cucumber, pickled radish, edamame, spicy mayo, unagi, and shredded nori and sat atop my choice of brown rice.
My husband chose the surf and turf bowl. His bowl included steak, ahi tuna, and octopus. The octopus was good! The last time I had octopus was many years ago in a sushi roll. It’s very dense and chewy. In addition to his protein, his bowl included edamame, corn, white and red onion, cucumber, ginger, sesame seeds, Maui Poke sauce, with the side of spicy mayo. He also asked for sriracha for his bowl and everything sat atop his choice of white rice. It was delicious.
Maui Poke makes it easy for someone new to making a poke bowl. The food creator was very patient with us and anticipated our questions before we asked. She knew which questions to ask before each “station” and efficiently put together our bowls. The final bowls were delicious. We added the Maui Mango bubble tea to complete our meal.
If you’ve never had a poke bowl before, Maui Poke guides you in the process:
- First choose your style: nori bowl (which is what we had), nori tacos, poke burrito, spinach wrap, nacho style, or organic salad.
- Nex,t you pick your base. Choose one: rice (white or brown), Maui mixed greens, wonton nacho style, quinoa, or zucchini noodles.
- Then, you pick your protein: classic ahi, lemon honey shrimp, fresh wild salmon, hamachi, sweet unagi eel, smoked salmon, tako (octopus), imitation crab, teriyaki steak, teriyaki chicken, or marinated tofu.
You can also choose from their mix-ins menu, added sides, or a variety of sauces to accompany your meal.
If you can’t decide on what to put in your bowl, make it easy on yourself and choose one of their pre-selected menu creations. You will not be disappointed whatever you choose. Enjoy!
Maui Poke is located at 2435 Kaanapali Pkwy H-20 in the Whaler's Village. Their hours are Sunday through Saturday 10am to 8pm.
Have you had poke before? Any suggestions for a newbie like me? What’s your favorite? Let me know in the comments!