Poké, what is it and what does this healthy food contain

Nowadays it is very common to eat in restaurants that offer us typical foods from other countries or cultures, it is even very common to buy food prepared to take away or to be taken home, beyond the classic pizza, or the traditional chicken roast. Exotic and multicultural foods are gaining more and more ground, and among them we find the poké.

What exactly is poké?

Poké is a type of preparation from hawaii, where it has been consumed regularly as a quick dish, without commercial value, but rather as a recipe to take advantage of the remains of fish and regain strength "itching". It is a type of preparation based on the Raw Fish, just spiced. It seems that little by little vegetables from other regions have been incorporated, it has been taking influences from other cuisines such as Indian and Japanese and the presentation has been refined. Ultimately, it is a type of simple preparation that has evolved into what we currently know as poké.

Poké are traditionally presented in a bowl or bowl. In the base the fish and vegetables are put on it and, finally, the seasoning. A wide variety of vegetable products and also different sauces or condiments. What we can find commercially as poké, we could almost say that it is a range of possibilities to choose from to fill your bowl in the way that you like the most.

Poké ingredients

• Cereals: the base of the poké bowls is usually made up of cereals, the most common is white, but currently it is easy to find options with brown rice, quinoa, noodles ... There are also varieties that do not include this contribution of cereal, in these cases the Poké is more similar to a “green salad” as the base is usually green mézclum or kale cabbage.
• Fish: The protein part of these curious bowls is usually made up of raw fish: tuna, salmon, butterfish (which actually usually refers to fish of the pomfret family), octopus, prawns, crab ... The presentation of these foods raw or marinated. Vegetarian options are offered in place of the addition of fish.
• Vegetables and other supplements: the vegetable portion of pokés can be very, very varied. Vegetables have been added as a complement and from other cultures, so when today we want to acquire a bowl of poké "Custom" we usually have a long list of plant foods to include: onion (specifically sweet Maui onion), carrot, cucumber, radishes, kale or kale, edamame, red cabbage, mushrooms (especially shitake), seaweed (such as wakame), mango, avocado, pickles such as pickles, jalapenos, ginger, kimchi, etc. It may also be the case that they include crab or fish roe (masago) as a complement.

• Marinades, sauces and "toppings": To begin with, as we indicated, the fish can be marinated, and we have the option of marinating it in different types of sauce: soy, shoyu or tamari (which does not contain gluten), or variants such as wasabi soyu or sweet soy, or also yuzu ponzu, which contains mirin and yuzu (a Japanese citrus). In addition to the marinade, a thicker sauce is usually added where sauce mixtures are generally used, resulting in an important gastronomic mix. Sauces are used such as a mixture of mayonnaise and wasabi, mayonnaise with soy and sesame, avocado sauce and coconut smoothie, aioli with sriracha (a spicy sauce made from fermented chili), etc. Finally, to round off the presentation at a commercial level, the possibility of dressing the food with different types of "toppings" is offered, such as coconut flakes, pickled ginger, furikake (seasoning based on algae), fish and vegetables. dried and dehydrated, sesame seeds, crunchy onion, togarashi (a spicy mixture of spices of Japanese origin that contains chili), nori seaweed, pepper, seeds, etc.

Most of the ingredients of the poké are consumed raw. At the nutritional level, a raw food is usually very interesting, because except for some specific cases in which raw foods contain antinutrients, as a general rule they maintain their nutritional properties very well and that makes them an interesting option. However, at the microbiological level, any raw food carries a greater risk of microbial contamination. For this reason, it is important to purchase these preparations in trustworthy establishments where without a doubt they must properly clean the vegetables and previously freeze the fish that they are going to use. We must have these same precautionary measures well at home if we elaborate it ourselves.

What does it provide us nutritionally?

When we make and / or consume a bowl of poké we obtain a mixture of ingredients that provides us carbohydrates complexes from cereals, protein fish or other seafood products, and vitamins and minerals that we get from vegetables. This combination results in a complete and interesting dish from a nutritional point of view. The food is raw and seasoned with different types of sauces and spices. Most sauces are watery or are a small touch, they are not present in large quantities. This makes poké light elaborations, since its fat content is low. Yes we must consider that some dressings, such as soy sauce, are very rich in salt and therefore we should not abuse and less in case of high blood pressure.

• Food from Hawaii, which was initially a simple snack and has evolved to what we know today as poké.
• It is a mixture of ingredients, not a specific recipe, but the combination of three types of food: cereals, fish and vegetables.
• It is a preparation that can be considered healthy, although we must take into account the necessary considerations to consume raw fish with guarantees of health.

Mercè Gonzalo

Bachelor of Food Science and Technology Diploma in Human Nutrition and Dietetics