Yesterday was Aloha Friday, and I started to think of my home, Hawaii. I suppose I should stop thinking that way, seeing as we’ve lived in the middle of the desert going on SIX YEARS now. Some things you just don’t give up, like the foods that you were brought up on and love and miss terribly. Fish is HUGE in Hawaii, duh, it’s only surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. A lot of kids learn to swim even before they learn to walk, I was no exception. I had a boyfriend that took me for our first date spear fishing, which was so much fun.
What I really wanted to share was all of the fish that we had on our last trip back home to Hawaii. I should rephrase that, Poke or Seafood Salad. I shared my Tako Poke or Octopus Salad, it’s cooked, not all Poke has to be raw. I also make a Mussel Poke for DH (I’m allergic) and the ingredients are the same, just substitute the cooked Octopus for Steamed (and shucked) Mussels and there you go.
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- Our 1st day, no hour back home, gotta have fish
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- 2nd day home, on the way to the beach
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- Tamura’s in Aikahi Park
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- So many different types of Poke
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- Ahi Limu Poke or Tuna w/Seaweed
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- Spicy Tako Poke or Octopus @ Uncle’s on Pier 38
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- Sashimi or Raw Tuna w/Wasabi
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- Ahi Poke or Tuna @ Uncle’s on Pier 38
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- My favorite place for Poke, Foodland
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- Foodland had the most to choose from
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- Yup, that’s baby Octopus alright
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- Shoyu Ahi Poke @ Foodland
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- this is salt salmon w/onions and tomatoes
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- this is just pure bliss for me!
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- Poke sampler plate @ Nico’s at Pier 38
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- Kahuku farm raised Prawns in a Garlic Sauce @ Nico’s at Pier 38
This all goes GREAT with an ice cold beer.
*translation-ONO: Good Food
ALOHA!
Tagged: Aloha, Back Home In Hawaii, Fish, Pescatarian Dishes, Poke, Really Good Food, Really ONO Food, Salad, Shrimp, Vegetarian Dishes
My Kitchen In The Middle Of The Desert 
Before I moved here, I was trying to explain to someone how I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to find my usual food/groceries in my new state. They looked at me as if I had sprouted a third eye. They just didn’t get it.
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I gotta’ tell ya’ Mrs. Beans, I started my research more than a year prior to leaving Hawaii, knowing that I was going to HAVE to find at least a few of your ‘normal’ grocery items. DH explained to me gently, “dear, this is the middle of the desert and there’s no water for miles around”. I have found most of our ingredients over the course of 5 + years that we’ve lived here.
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….and I should’ve never started clicking on the poke pictures. Sigh.
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I’m with you sista’! Not too many people here GET IT. We’ve gone home 3 times and each time the first thing that we do once we get off the plane and into the car is GO EAT!!! The first time it was sushi (it’s just not the same on the mainland, I don’t care what anyone says) and the second time was 5 different pokes and then this last time was 4 pokes with a side of Kamaboko (steamed fish cake). Sigh!
Mahalo for stopping by, come back again, I’ll have more Hawaii food adventures that we can share.
Aloha!
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I got spoiled while living in Oregon. We had a huge grocery store called Uwajimaya. It was like little Hawaii (and they even had several kinds of poke!) plus all of my important Japanese groceries.
There are no markets here and I found a so-so one up in Colorado Springs. I did find a pretty good one up in Denver so that is where I shall go at least once a month.
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My DH put in storage cabinets in our finished garage, so that I could stash my treasures. I keep no less than a gallon of Aloha Shoyu at all times, 3 furikake, 3 oyster sauce, 3 hoisin, 3 rice vinegar, 3 mirin, 2 5lbs bags of hinode rice, … you get it. We have an ’asian market’ (I don’t care for that word) in the city, which is a good hours drive from the middle of the desert, but they look like they’re going out of business. I feel your pain sista’! When we go to San Diego to visit our Niece, we go to Marukai, LOVE IT! I stock up. Cali is so much like Hawaii, but not a great place for retirees…
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I forgot to ask, did you catch my Zippy’s Mac Salad? I’m not sure if you’re from Oahu or not.
This took me years to figure out, the mother of necessity right? I’ve taught myself most of the dishes from Hawaii that you’ve been missing, stop by again soon.
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[…] asked him what he was going to do with all of that; he tells me he makes Poke or Raw Fish Salad and sell it at the local […]
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