Hawaiian Poke

This has to be one my favorite and easiest of dishes to compose. It's fresh, light, flavorful and incredibly healthy. Poke has become very popular this past year in San Francisco with numerous poke shops popping up. The key is to have pristine ingredients and to balance all the spices correctly.

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

-1 pound best quality ahi tuna or yellowtail, Cut into 1/2 inch cubes (remove any veins or blood lines)
-1 tablespoon freshly grated or minced ginger
-4 scallions, thinly sliced
-1/2 Maui or cipollini onion, thinly sliced (I like to put the sliced onion into a bowl of ice water for 1 hour to mellow its intensity)
-3 tablespoons organic Tamari or best quality soy sauce
-3 tablespoons sesame oil
-1/2 tablespoon of Japanese togarashi powder (available in Japanese markets)
-1 tablespoon organic brown cane sugar
-1 cup of best quality cooked rice (optional)
-fresh cilantro for garnish
-1 tablespoon sesame seeds, lightly toasted in a dry pan on high heat for 45 seconds

Add all of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Adjust seasoning as needed. For example, adding more togarashi will increase the spice level. Place into the refrigerator for 1 hour (up to 3 hours) before serving. Garnish with additional cilantro and plate over rice.