Hawai‘i’s original fish salad: cubed raw ahi with soy, sesame oil, sweet onion, and limu — over warm rice.

Where does Ahi Poke come from?

Ahi Poke is a Hawaiian dish from Hawai‘i, United States.

Can Ahi Poke be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Ahi Poke recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Ahi Poke take to make?

About 20 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 0 minutes cooking), serving 3.

Ahi Poke — a Hawai‘i, United States recipe

Name: Ahi Poke
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: Hawaiian
Ingredients: 1 lb sashimi-grade ahi tuna, cubed; 3 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil; 1/2 sweet Maui (or Vidalia) onion, slivered; 3 scallions, sliced; 3 tbsp limu (seaweed) or crumbled nori; 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds; a pinch chili flakes (optional); 3 cups warm short-grain rice, to serve

North America → 🇺🇸 United States → Hawai‘i

Ahi Poke

Hawaiian · easy · serves 3

prep 20 min · cook 0 min

~1010 cal · 58g protein · 165g carbs · 11g fat (estimated, per serving)

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Cubed ahi poke with sesame and scallions over rice

🇺🇸 Hawai‘i

Poke — "to cut crosswise" — was fishermen’s food long before it was a mainland bowl trend: the day’s catch, cut and seasoned with what the island gave. In Hawai‘i it’s bought by the pound at the counter and eaten the same afternoon.

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Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 3 —

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1 lb sashimi-grade ahi tuna, cubed

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3 tbsp soy sauce

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1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

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1/2 sweet Maui (or Vidalia) onion, slivered

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3 scallions, sliced

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3 tbsp limu (seaweed) or crumbled nori

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1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

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a pinch chili flakes (optional)

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3 cups warm short-grain rice, to serve

Instructions

1

Cut the ahi (or its plant stand-in) into clean 3/4-inch cubes with a sharp knife — ragged cuts bruise the fish.

2

Fold gently with soy, sesame oil, onion, scallions, limu, sesame seeds, and chili.

3

Rest 10 minutes in the fridge so the seasoning settles in.

4

Serve over warm rice — the temperature contrast is the island secret. Eat the same day, ideally within sight of water.

Hawai‘i fish-counter tradition.

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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

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Hawai‘i. Island crossroads where poke is a daily ritual, not a trend.

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United States. Regional cooking shaped by migration and the land.

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North America. A collision of Indigenous, colonial, and immigrant tables.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

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Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →