Aloha, Ahi

	Ahi Poke

When world-renowned chef Sam Choy describes ahi poke -- Hawaii's most traditional and popular dish -- he says simply, "It is Hawaii's soul food." He dedicated a 150-page cookbook to the subject, so passionate is he about the unique taste.

Ahi poke is as ubiquitous as crystal-blue waves, frosty tropical drinks and floral-print shirts on the islands of Hawaii. In fact, most Hawaiians say a party wouldn't be a party without poke (pronounced po-keh). No wonder Hawaii hosts not one, but two, large festivals each year that draw thousands to celebrate the delicacy.

Poke, which means "to cut or slice" in Hawaiian, is a close culinary relative of ceviche. While there are variations, it is commonly made of bite-size pieces of raw tuna, mixed with seaweed, yellow and green onions and sesame oil.

The popularity of the dish in Hawaii can be traced to Choy himself. The master chef started the Sam Choy Poke Festival in 1992 on the island of Hawaii. In the beginning, the event simply consisted of a poke recipe contest; now there are the festivals on the big island, and they have grown to include cooking classes, cash prizes and even a golf tournament.

Culinary experts say ahi poke is one of the best examples of Hawaii's relatively new emphasis on fresh, local ingredients, because it represents Hawaii's amalgam of cuisines adapted from Asia, Europe and the islands. Fifteen years ago, many restaurants in Hawaii cooked with frozen fish and imported products; travel writers used to say that if you wanted great food, you had to bring it with you.

Looking Local

That all changed when Sam Choy, Alan Wong and Roy Yamaguchi -- three of the 12 chefs who created Hawaiian Regional Cuisine, a culinary movement that changed eating on the islands -- began working with local farmers to increase the use of locally-grown products, meats, and seafood.

These days, at trendy island restaurants like Roy's or Sam's, you can expect ravioli stuffed with taro leaves; crab hash sitting in a pool of black-bean sauce; scallops topped with spicy guava sauce; or crispy macadamia nut lace cookies with lilikoi and mango mousse.

After their island transformation, a team of Hawaii's most talented chefs toured the country, introducing the new cuisine in various high-end restaurants.

In 2001, several chefs were invited to the James Beard House in New York City's Greenwich Village to create masterpiece meals for food enthusiasts and industry leaders. Executive chef Daniel Delbrei from Sheraton's Moana Surfrider Hotel paired up with Houston chef and restaurateur Scott Chen for a mind-boggling, eclectic five-course meal that intermingled Asian classics with native Hawaiian elements such as macadamia honey, minted papaya chutney, mangos and avocados.

To view Tracy McNamara's video take of today's Good Life segment, click here.