Poke: From Hawaii to Our Table

Poke is a typical Hawaiian dish consisting in diced raw fish served as an appetizer.

Beginning around 2012, poke started to become increasingly popular in North America and it is now spread all around the world.

Poke is usually composed of:

Base: usually rice or salad

Proteins: raw or cooked fish, meat, eggs or vegan options (like tofu and seitan)

Greens: different vegetables and fruits

Toppings: including nuts, seeds...

Sauce: including soy, ponzu, olive oil...

Due to the huge variety of options, poke is a really simple and complete dish to eat at home or to pack for work or school. Here are some of the tastiest #MannyMade pokes!

Now, let's prepare one together!

Here is a recipe for a Low-Carb Vegetarian Poke (includes keto option).

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Ingredients

- 350ml (11oz) of water

- 70g (2.4oz) of white rice

- 5ml (1tsp) of rice vinegar

- 50g (1.7oz) of avocado

- 50g (1.7oz) of cucumber

- 50g (1.7oz) of bean sprouts

- 2 eggs

- 50g (1.7oz) of butter

- 10g (0.3oz) of peanuts

- chia seeds as preferred

- soy sauce as preferred

- salt and pepper

Preparation: 20min | Cooking: 20min | Overall Time: 40min

For this low-carb vegetarian poke, start by filling up a pot with water and let it boil. Once it starts to bubble, add around 3g (0,1oz) of salt and let it dissolve. Now, add the rice and stir. As the water starts to bubble again, reduce the flame and let it cook for around 15 minutes. Taste the rice and check that the consistency is al dente to cooked. Drain. Proceed by seasoning with rice vinegar and chia seeds and let cool.

Now it's time to prepare your greens. Start by cutting the avocado in half and remove the seed. Dice each side with a knife and collect the cubes with a spoon. Put around a quarter of the avocado aside for later. Preserve the rest with some lemon juice and put it in the fridge (I usually make guacamole for the following day).

Let's move to the cucumber. Cut about a fifth of a cucumber. Peel it, dice it and put it aside for later.

For the bean sprouts, wash them and dry them. Then, put them aside for later.

As this poke is vegetarian, I chose scrambled eggs as proteins. Start by melting the butter in a pan. Add the eggs and season them with salt and pepper. Beat them with a spatula or a pair of chopsticks as they cook. Yes, if you have some old take out chopsticks in your kitchen drawer, this is your chance to make them of use. Check out all the ways to recycle them.

Now that the eggs are ready, it's time to plate up!

Fill up a small bowl with the rice and add all your proteins and greens. Finish up by topping with some peanuts and soy sauce and your poke is ready to be served!

Hot Tips: For a ketogenic option, use salad as your base instead of rice and season it with olive oil.