By I stand alone as the only New Yorker who never does takeout. Why? Short answer: I like my food hot. Few dishes travel well. And I consider cooking therapy. Given the choice of tipping some dude five bucks to hike up to my fifth floor walkup with a sack of congealed fries versus cranking up the jazz, rolling up my sleeves and whipping up something fun? No-brainer.
Those who follow my Instagram know, I favor tartare anything. My wife, healthful friends, and the FDA are constantly on my ass. But if they’re so smart, why is there a Poke takeout joint popping up on every corner in America? I invested an obscene fifteen bucks to find out why and I was keenly disappointed. Lots of filler food, too many choices at the counter, and precious little satisfaction on what I really crave: sashimi in any form!
So, yet again, the King of Raw takes up the challenge. DIY Poke is fun to make, easy, quick, inexpensive, and you get to play Iron Chef Morimoto and bone up on your knife skills.
Tuna Poke with Avocado
Ingredients
• 8 ounces sashimi grade tuna or salmon
• 1 firm avocado
• 1 red onion or a couple of scallions
• 1 jalapeno
• A few shakes of Sesame Oil and chili oil
• Same for Soy sauce or fish sauce
• Japanese Furikake Flakes (easy to find at any good specialty market
Prep
–Carve the fish into ½ inch chunks
–Scoop out half the avocado and cut the firm pieces into small chunks
–Dice or thinly slice onion; same for jalapeno
–Throw it all in a bowl
–Add oils, sauces and a few good shakes of Furikake flakes and toss
–Let sit in fridge to chill
TIPS
You can serve this atop rice, though I don’t see why. I am seriously considering adding chickpeas next time. Definitely eat with chopsticks. And isn’t this a great time to bone up on your Sake from your local wine shop?
