Refreshing tuna poke with avocado, lemon juice, and ogo seaweed, marinated in spicy soy sauce, and sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Today I’m sharing a very popular Hawaiian dish called Ahi Tuna Poke (Pokē) which consists of cubed raw ahi tuna/yellowfin tuna marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, sea salt, some seaweed, and chili pepper.
Traditional poke consists of sliced fillet served with sea salt, seaweed, and limu, but there are many variations of the modern Poke like my recipe today. My husband loves Poke and we sometimes prepare differently with diced tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and so on.
I bought this Poke Mix which already includes Ogo seaweed (orognori). If you are vegetarian or don’t eat raw fish, you can easily substitute the tuna with tofu.
I hope you enjoyed this Tuna Poke recipe! If you make this recipe, snap a picture and hashtag it #JustOneCookbook. I love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter! Thank you so much for reading and trying the recipes!
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- ¼ lb sushi-grade tuna
- 1 avocado
- Lemon juice
- 1 green onion/scallion
- ½ Tbsp Ogo seaweed
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- ½ Tbsp la-yu (Japanese chili oil)
- Sea salt
Gather all the ingredients.
- If your tuna is not cubed (I bought pre-cut tuna sashimi from a Japanese market), dice it into 1/2 inch square pieces across the grain.
- Soak ogo seaweed in water for 3-5 minutes. Drain and chop into small pieces.
- Slice avocado into cubes and scoop up with a spoon.
- Squeeze some lemon juice on avocado to keep it from turning brown.
- Slice the green onion into small pieces.
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
- Add the seasonings and toss all together.
- Serve on a plate (you do not need to marinade) and sprinkle roasted white sesame seeds and Shichimi Togarashi.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
my husband’s favorite 🙂
That looks delicious Nami! I love tuna! I’m glad you blog migrating problems are gone.
So glad you got everything worked out Nami! That’s always stressful. I love Poke and when we go to visit family in Kauai we enjoy making it (I just have to use gluten-free soy sauce). Looking forward to trying your recipe!
Welcome back Nami! I was thinking of you my friend.
I love this dish, so easy and I love the combintaion of flavors, I’m going to make it for sure! Hugs and Kisses
I never had this before but it sure looks real delicious. I guess it taste heavenly delicious not just delicious!
This looks absolutely delicious! I’ve just got home from Hawaii and had so much tuna over there!
I love this dish, Nami. Simple and beautiful. Tuna and avocado are my favorites.
i think i’ll be moving mine to a new server when the contract expires in December, i’ll have to stack up on some chocolate before i do a thing.
And while i do that i hope you’ll come over to make this for dinner. looks and sounds delish!
Oh my goodness, this looks so delicious. Well, I didn’t even know that you migrated your blog. I am thinking about doing that perhaps when my contract is about to expire. I’m glad that the process is over for you. Have a good weekend, Nami! 🙂
Nami, I love ahi tuna. The fact that you added avocado to it just makes it all the more appealing! Sorry to hear about your web/email woes… I just subscribed (at last!) and look forward to more of your delicious food!
I am glad everything is back to normal!
Your Tuna Poke looks fantastic and very delicious, Nami! I can imagine the taste once its seasoned. Well done as always!
I remember the last time I moved hosts. GOD WHAT A NIGHTMARE!!! So I totally can feel you angst and frustration the last few days! I’m glad it’s over and your site is back up running and healthy. Speaking of healthy, what a heart-friendly dish! I’ve never really tried poke like this before. The only time I had poke was in an Italian restaurant on top of crostini.
YEAH! Welcome back! We are so making this the next the hubby goes fishing. Love ahi tuna. Our favorite thing to do when he has fresh tuna is to eat it sashimi-style. Melts in your mouth! I’m so glad your move is done. Like I told you, it’s a necessary evil and it means that you have tremendous readership! We love you!
Yay! You’re back! And this looks delicious – love tuna!
I looked at the name and a Q-mark appeared in my mind! From where: of course, my spritual home Hawaii, where I almost ended up making my home many yeaars ago 🙂 ! Love the recipe, love your easy variation on the theme! Can’t see myself accessing La-yu, but looked it up and can substitute! Hope all your annoying problems are over 🙂 !
Thank you Eha! 🙂
Very intriguing dish. Sushi grade tuna is so expensive here that the chances of my making it are scare but maybe a raw salmon version would be more doable. 🙂 Don’t know where I’d find the ogo seaweed though.
This is so delicious! I can’t wait to try this tuna recipe! Glad to see you back,Nami! Don’t worry , we are all still here and always look forward to your amazing recipes!
So glad the migration has been successfully done! And this poke – YUM! I absolutely love poke but I never thought to make it at home!
So glad you’re back and everything is working! This dish looks amazing!
I love tuna poke and yours looks bright and refreshing. Great tutorial and photos.
Glad to hear your tech stuff is back to normal.
Mouth is watering. Seriously!
Nami, what type of tofu can be used if the ahi is not available? I live in the desert so ahi is hard to come by and poke is a family favorite. I always purchase extra firm tofu, freeze it, thaw and squeeze all the water out, but I don’t think it would work as an ahi substitute.
Thanks!
Hi Stephanie! I use firm tofu. I never froze tofu before and that’s an interesting technique. Here’s what I normally do.
Drain tofu and place on a plate lined with 2-3 paper towels. Cover tofu with another 2-3 paper towels. Then put another plate on top to compress the tofu and squeeze out the excess water. I leave it at least 15 minutes before cutting into small cubes.
I wouldn’t call tofu as “substitute” for ahi tuna; however, if someone doesn’t like raw fish but still want to try Poke or eat something light, I think tofu is the best alternative. 🙂
Love this recipe Nami. I’m a huge hawaiian recipe lover. Ahi tuna poke is the bomb.
Yum! Poke is so ‘ono (delicious)! Your version looks oishi. Aloha from Hawai’i!
Hi Kel! Ono means delicious. Thanks for teaching me! Arigato for your kind message. Aloha! 🙂
I like it
Before I finished reading the entire post, I was going to send you some Poké mix! I didn’t know it was readily available to you. You could very well cut the ahi cubes smaller and wrap the mixture in temaki rolls–yum!
Hi Donna! Aww you are so sweet! Thank you very much! It looks like I’m in luck with Poke Mix! I found it in Japanese supermarket here. I’m going to make temaki with poke next time – that’s a fantastic idea!
Nami, I had never ever heard of a “Poke” before but the flavors sound so delicious and harmonious together! Love the clear instructions and the wonderful photography and just looking at it makes me so incredibly hungry. This also looks like it would be great to serve at a dinner party!
Have a wonderful weekend! I am glad to see that your blog is “back on track” and all is weel again!
Gee that looks tasty, Nami. I’ve never done sushi food, but I do have a bottle of La-yu brought home from Japan.. so maybe it’s time I gave it a try!
Ooohhhh … poh-keh! For a moment I was thinking of something similar to a poke cake and if this requires poking a fish … duh. I do love this dish and your presentation here looks so mouth-watering! I’ve had the pleasure of trying different types of poke when holidaying in Honolulu some time back. I’d totally forgotten about this dish. Now I’ve a sudden craving!
Dear Nami,
I have never even heard of this dish but it looks beautiful and simple to make that I am defintely going to try it this summer.
Like the way you diced Avocado..
Healthy and delicious 🙂 Love the pics!
I’m so glad all your computer issues have been sorted. i have never heard of tuna poke before but it looks like a delicious recipe and I love anything with avocado xx
Fabulous! I love salmon poke and yours looks just so mouthwatering.
Cheers,
Rosa
Looks really healthy and delicious!
I love the way you execute this tuna dish my friend it’s gorgeous 🙂
Glad your problems are fixed 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
gorgeous photos! i would pick out the avocados while my beloved would pick out the tuna, so it’s the perfect dish to share.
Gosh! It looks good!
Great looking dish! Tuna has such a terrific flavor and it’s one of my favorites. Sorry you had problems in changing servers, but glad everything is back to normal.
Love this. I adore poke and that tuna looks gorgeous. Good luck with your techinical issues, we’ve all been there.
We fell in love with poke on our Hawaii trip a few years back! I think we ate it everyday. 🙂 I’ve only made it once, actually, Bobby made and it was quite good, but not as good as what we got in Hawaii. Thanks for the heads-up on the Poke Mix! I’ll have to look for it, or order it online if I can find it. You pictures and recipe have me craving it! Now to find some decent tuna. UGH! Have a great weekend and SO glad that you survived the hosting migration! Everything looks great!
Love it! Last year on our honeymoon in Kauai we found a little hole in the wall that had the best box lunches–tuna poke was one of the sides, and I could have eaten it every day. Actually, I may have. I think I need to try this at home now! That looks absolutely scrumptious.
All that technical things is a pain, and I can say that because I work in a technical enterprise, so I have to deal with that all the days.
Great the migration ended, that allows us to have this great recipe from you…!!!
I was beginning to worry when I saw these weird messages but since everything went back to normal it is ok! I love avocado and I haven’t tried it with fish. Sounds like a very tasty and unique dish!
How delicious! Love sashimi so much that I’m afraid I will crave for it when I’m pregnant. LOL. Hooray for new hosting site. It must be overwhelming during the process but I’m glad to hear it’s over now.
Glad that everything is back to normal. That looks so good. I am a huge avocado fan and love its addition here.
Yum yum! Looks absolutely healthy and delicious!!
Huge fan of tuna like this, it really looks so delicious. I can feel the tuna melt in my mouth is looks so fresh.
Hurray that things are back up to speed! This dinner looks like my kind of meal for sure. So flavorful!
I’m always amazed the amount of work you put into your website. Today’s recipe looks wonderful and will try it asap.
Thanks you so much Nami
Hi Agnes! Thank you – blogging, especially food blogging takes a long time as we have to plan a meal, cook, take pictures, edit photos, etc etc… but it’s fun especially working with food! 🙂 Technical part is the tough part for me. So many things I want to get it done but I’m lacking knowledge. 🙂 Thanks for your feedback Agnes!
I love the name of this recipe! Who wouldn’t be tickled by a little tuna poke :). I love all the fresh sushi accompaniments to the fish and you know what I could see myself adding here? A touch of mango or papaya… oh my goodness… (I swear I was Thai in another life ;-)). Thanks for mentioning the connection error – I thought it was just me!
One of my favorites. I can eat a lot of this. We go back to Hawaii for our winter vacation in a couple of weeks. I eat this a lot :). Great recipe! Glad you are up and running again too!!
My sister who’s in Hawaii loves this! I’ll have to try this recipe on her when she visits Chicago for Christmas.
Welcome baaaaaaack! Glad you are LIVE again! As usual, an amazing Japanese dish can be found here! Anything with sichimi togarashi is a winner in my book!
Dear Nami, thanks for stopping by my blog while I away for vacation. Your tuna poke sound so refreshing and flavorful.
Congratulations, Nami, for all the incredible work you are putting into your blog! You have changed the hosting company so quickly!
This salad is a pure delight. I haven’t had it but I simply know: the avocado, my beloved tuna and seasonings… I have been admiring a similar avocado and tuna salad in my Izakaya Cookbook for such a long time and have been meaning to prepare it for what seems like eternity. I like Hawaiian cuisine more and more! (I have been preparing Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken for months and still love it).
Do you have any tips concerning “sashimi grade” tuna? (Apart from the freshness which of course is not as good here as in Japan). I often buy tuna (I love it!), but only grill it (it’s half raw inside but it’s still not 100% raw…), so I was wondering if you had any tips when choosing a steak for raw use (they sell it in steaks only). I am always choosing the clearest, the most tender-looking steaks, but am not sure if it’s the same for raw tuna.
Hi Sissi! Thanks. 🙂
I’m not a specialist here in terms of fish regulation, but in Japan all the fish is labeled as “for sashimi” or “for cooking”.
I think “sashimi grade” simply means that it can be safely eaten raw. A piece of “sashimi grade” fish must be eaten in a few days, but after a certain period of time, it’s still edible but must be cooked prior to eating.
Though I heard that there were any USDA standards regarding the term “sashimi grade”. You should ask fishmonger if the “fresh” fish can be eaten as raw.
I am so happy your migration is finally over. Things like that scare me so much.. especially since I am not computer-smart. I love getting your recipes again….and this looks fresh and bright. Lovely as always my friend!! Have a great weekend! ~ Ramona
So sorry to hear about your hiccups & glad everything’s alright now. I can imagine the frustration of going thru all these. The tuna poke seems to be a relaxing starter to relief some of the tension there. Hahaha! Would love to have some of that.
Nami, I’m planning to visit Tokyo sometime next mth. Can’t wait to see all my Japanese friends again & eat my fave Japanese food. Have a wonderful weekend, my dear!
Migrated is stressful, no? Glad to see JOC is back online! Ahi tuna poke is one of my faves (brings back memories of Hawaii, sigh) we actually have a place called North Shore Poke a few blocks away that I frequent. A few months back, I posted a poke made with white fish and mango to change it up a little – it’s all good 🙂
I am glad your technical issues have been resolved. I am terrified when something goes wrong on my site because I have no clue how to fix it…
Tuna Poke, I have never heard of it. it looks lovely! I love reading your blog. I learn new things all the time. Thank you!
The first time I tried poke was salmon poke at Bellagio buffet and I fell in love. However, I have never heard of poke before so I was very confused when I read the name of the dish. I`m so thankfully you posted this recipe for tuna poke!
And, Congrats on the migration! I`m glad it was successful.
Ohhh this looks very yummy and I’ve actually never heard of Poke mix 🙂 Would love to try and I love the mix of tuna and avocado hehe ~
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had issues with emails and having lots some contacts! it’s the worse 🙁 Hope it’s all sorted out now!
Glad to see you had fully migrated!
This dish looks very appetizing, Nami!
Oh you poor thing Nami! Technical issues are never fun are they? But I’m glad to hear that it’s all behind you now and we’re reading about this delicious tuna poke!! 😀
Such a pretty dish Nami! I’m not a big raw fish eater but I think you might be able to entice me with this one!
How funny that you know Jamie, it is a small world indeed!
I know how all these technical behind the scene work can keep you busy,since I’ve been quite busy myself :)But your Tuna recipe sounds fab!I love the fact that you’ve used Avocado here too and I bet it tastes delicious:)Never tried the dressing before and need to find it now 🙂
I am glad your migration is complete and I dread the day I have to do this, but now I know who to ask for questions… Your tuna poke is lovely and love the combination of the succulent tuna and creamy avocado. Fresh like the sea… Delicious. Take care, BAM
My oldest son (Boy #1) is crazy for ahi. Ever since he was very young he was just crazy for it. I’m going to show this post to him and I know he’s going to want to try it. Maybe it will inspire him to make it!
I’m so happy migration went smoothly gal!!!
Now u take a little break n relax, I know
W this was no easy sr
Tress free job..
Recipe looks delicious!
Ahhh, I finally know what a Poke is! It’s somewhat like a ceviche! This definitely makes for a light, refreshing dish!
Hi Nami, happy to hear everything is back to normal. The tuna dish looks wonderful! 🙂
Hi Nami – glad the hosting switchover went smoothly (ish), even if it was longer than expected. I do hope you don’t experience any problems anymore. I love the look of this “poke” (I love that name, but I guess it’s pronounced more like “pok-eh”, right?). Still…, makes me want to make it on the name alone, although I can imagine the flavour – must be so fresh and tasty with that lovely tuna and lemon!
What a light and easy dish, Nami! I think even I could do this! I love spicy tuna and avocado! Beautiful photos as always! : )
Oh, this looks amazing, Nami! You may just find me at your doorstep next time you make this…it may be may favorite meal EVER! Kita is going to help me move my blog…there’s no way I could do it without her expert assistance! Glad you’re back to normal. xo
This is one of my favorites! (I’m glad your issue has been resolved, I know how frustrating, long and tedious it can be)!
Mmm this looks so good – you’re making my mouth water!! Just love the look of the fresh flavours with the silky fish yumm
I only have one source for sushi grade tuna and this recipe looks like a reason to stop by when I return from my vacation.
Happy to see you again, Nami! Lovely dish you have here, very healthy. Seaweed is very nice addition here. Yum-)
My wife loves tuna poke – thank you for showing how to make it at home! She will appreciate the avocado in this recipe, too! The tofu poke sounds like a flavorful version for (non-fish-eating) vegetarians. Allen.
I love this dish! It looks so pretty too! My hosting service changed their servers a few months ago. Even that was a pain. I’m glad to hear that your hosting migration problems are a thing of the past. 🙂
I love poke, I only wish I could find the tuna here to make it at home. I’ll just drool over yours. Glad you got everything done, wish I could have been of some assistance, but I don’t think the technical side will ever be my thing.
-Gina-
Before we found out about our next move, we thought we were going to Hawaii when we left here. My husband lived there before for a few years and he always talks about the poke. Great recipe! I’ve been wanting to take another trip down to the fish market and I think I may add tuna to my shopping list. He would love it if I surprised him with this!
We moved a large website that needed 13 servers from one host to another last year and John didn’t sleep for 4 days. I totally understand your pain.
What a beautiful salad!
Never thought of pairing avocado with tuna. Looks like a fresh and delicious combo 🙂
My husband would devour this in a heartbeat!
This looks so good Nami, I will definitley try it. I like the Shichimi Togarashi added to it. Must taste so good…I would like some now for breakfast! I am always excited seeing the dishes you have for us!.
I always order this at a restaurant and have been wanting to try it out at home, for a long time.
I love how you have incorporated tuna and avocado. Delicious!
Hi Nami,
I love Poke! Where did you find the Poke mix?
I’m glad to hear your hosting migration is fixed. =)
Thanks Candice! I think I got it in Nijiya. 🙂
I love tuna, and this sounds like a wonderful way to eat it 🙂
yay, I glad that u can finaly have some peace with that hosting problem of yours.
I have never tried to cook with tuna, its just not very common from where I come from, but yours looks so nice with the avocado. thanks for sharing nami!
Oh, this looks so fresh and delicious. Avocado is a terrific companion to the tuna.
LL
P.S. You must have a million chopstick rests Nami!
Oh that looks yummy – I love that mix of tuna with avocado 🙂 We actually always get this dish at a local restaurant, I’m not sure why I never tried to make it at home before! Thanks for the great recipe.
This is a recipe my hubby would go crazy for, he adores spicy tuna rolls for sushi, and we love very lightly seared tuna. Actually, we haven’t had tuna in awhile, and now I am kinda craving it now:-) Fantastic! Hugs, Terra
Raw, fresh tuna is hands-down one of my favorite foods on earth. I wish tuna wasn’t so mercury laden, because I could easily eat it every day. This salad is fabulous Nami and I can’t wait to try it. I’m salivating just thinking about it and of course your photos are drool worthy too. 🙂
This is one of my favorites! I’ve never thought about making my own tuna poke at home, now just need to find sushi grade tuna and a few ingredients-thanks for this recipe Nami;-) I’m happy your computer issues are now behind you;-)
Oh isn’t server move a pain? We’ve lost many of hours working on mine… Glad everything is back to normal for JOC, Nami. As far as this recipe is concerned I often make something similar for lunch, but I like to add some wasabi for extra heat as well. As you said, each to their own. Beautiful photos!
Congrats on completing your migration. I’m such a tech dummy–when stuff goes wrong, I’m completely helpless.
Tuna poke is one of my favorite treats when in Hawaii. There’s one particular dish served nacho style that I’ve been meaning to imitate for a few years. Your version is easy and lets the freshness of the tuna shine through. 🙂
That looks delicious! I want some now!
I just experienced my first poke this summer. It was amazing and now I want to go back and try more! This recipe looks beautiful. (as always) 😉
Sorry I didn’t see this sooner! Thank you for including me and I am glad I could help! I hope things run a lot smoother for you now. 🙂
Every time I go to Hawaii, I can practically live on poke. Seriously! Love the stuff. I wish it was more readily available here in stores. In Hawaii, you can actually get big tubs of poke at Costco. Yes, Costco! 😉
I like the sound of the fresh flavors in this! I had sashimi once maybe 10 years ago and didn’t like it … it didn’t taste like it was flavored with anything, just the iron taste of raw flesh. I’d love to try this with the avocado, lemon, and green onion.
Stunning photos, Nami! This is a favorite of ours when we go out so now I’m excited to try it at home. Thank you!
I cant wait to try tuna poke when Im in the US next year 😀
I could have Poke every day and yours looks super ONO! 🙂
Hi Nami,
Can you substitute tuna with salmon? Recipe looks amazing
Hi Sam! Yes you can. I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Hi Nami,
It turned out it really well but i used Kizami Nori. The only thing is i can’t find ogo seaweed. Is there another name for ogo seaweed? I”m going to make the recipe again 🙂
Take Care
Sam
Hi Sam! Thank you so much for writing feedback! Glad to hear it turned out well.
According to wiki, it says ogonori is also called ogo or sea moss. I took out only ogo from Poke Mix (https://www.justonecookbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Poke-Mix.jpg).
If you can get sashimi-grade fish, I hope the same store (maybe) carry the poke mix. Good luck! 🙂
I see your “never miss a recipe” at the bottom…..I put my email address there but now what?…..there is no send button
Hi David! If you look at the box it says “Enter your email address and hit return”. That’s how the web designer made…
Hi!!! Just discovered this site when searching for takouaki recipe. Now ive surelu fallen diwn the rabbit hole. This look wonderful. Can we switch the tuna for salmon?
Hi Lisa! Thank you for discovering my site and welcome to JOC! Yes, you can use salmon for this recipe. 🙂 Enjoy!