Spicy Salmon (Faux-kay) Poke

I discovered Hawaiian poke (pronounced POH-kay) the first time we visited the paradise island. Traditional poke is essentially a sashimi salad of super fresh, raw fish, cut into cubes (poke actually means “to slice or cut” in Hawaiian), tossed together with some soy sauce, sesame oil, kukui nuts, Hawaiian salt, and seaweed or sweet onions. These days, many markets in Hawaii have a wide selection of various types of poke — tuna, salmon, octopus, you name it. One of my favorite iterations of poke is spicy salmon. Since it’s not always easy (or cost-efficient) to buy sashimi-grade fish, this faux poke — or faux-kay, if you will — has all the great flavors I love about spicy salmon poke, but made with a good quality salmon rather than sashimi-grade. Using a brining method, we first quick-cure the fish, then cook it sous vide at a low temperature. The result is a beautiful firm, but supple texture that can stand up to the dicing. Serve this Spicy Salmon (Faux-kay) Poke on cucumber slices for an elegant hors d’oeuvre, or spoon them into little squares of seaweed snacks to make poke tacos!

Author

Stephanie Hua

Stephanie is a food writer, photographer, recipe tester & developer based in SF. She received her culinary arts training at the San Francisco Cooking School and is the creator of food blog, Lick My Spoon (a place for all things delicious). Her work has appeared in The Huffington Post, Fodor's Travel, PBS, Serious Eats, SF Weekly, and KQED, among others.

Prep Time: 07:00

Recipe Time: 01:00

Temperature : 104F / 40C

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup (160 g) kosher salt
• Scant 1/2 cup (80 g) granulated sugar
• 3 1/4 cups (800 g) water
• 3 1/4 cups (800 g) ice
• 14 ounces (400 g) skinless salmon loin
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped scallion
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• Cucumber slices or seaweed snacks, for serving
• Chives and sesame seeds, for serving.

Directions

1. Set the Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker to 104ºF (40ºC).
2. In a large container, whisk together the water, salt, and sugar. Continue to whisk until salt and sugar are dissolved. Chill the brining liquid to below 41ºF (5ºC) by adding the ice. Stir to melt ice.
3. Submerge the salmon in the brine for 45 minutes.
4. Remove the salmon from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Place the salmon in a large zipper lock or vacuum seal bag with the olive oil. Seal using the water immersion technique or a vacuum sealer on the moist setting. Place in the water bath and set the timer for 1 hour.
5. When the timer goes off, remove the bag from the water bath. Submerge the bag in an ice bath to thoroughly chill the salmon. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 6 hours. (This step is important. It helps the fish set to the correct consistency.)

Finishing Steps

1. Cut the chilled salmon into 1/2-inch dice and place in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the chopped scallion, mayonnaise, sriracha, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Gently fold mixture together until all ingredients are evenly combined.
3. Serve salmon on cucumber slices or spooned over seaweed snacks, garnished with chives and sesame seeds.