In Hawaii, poke bowls can be found everywhere from gas stations to high-end restaurants, and it’s not hard to see why: a poke bowl is a compact, highly nutritious meal featuring poke on a bed of rice or salad, surrounded with vegetables and umami-packed sauces. At Grubby’s Poke & Fish Market, building your personal poke bowl is a four-step process:

• Choose your base: white rice, brown rice, mixed greens, cucumber noodles, or tortilla chips
• Pick your protein: Ahi, spicy tuna, salmon, albacore, house smoked shrimp, organic tofu, torched octopus, local catch of the day, or house smoked catch
• Select your sauce: poke sauce, spicy mayo, ginger ponzu, cucumber miso mayo, peanut sauce, eel sauce, or sugar-free basic batch
• Try some toppings: avocado, krab, spicy krab, green onion, fried onion, fried garlic, wasabi, masago, furikake, egg, cucumber, seaweed salad, edamame, mango, pineapple, mandarin orange, and chicharrones

All ahi is tuna, but not all tuna is ahi. Ahi is also known as yellowfin tuna. Yellowfin is more commonly available than bluefin but it’s just as tasty, and it has a stronger flavor than albacore tuna. Ahi is the most common type of fish used in poke, providing a delicious but not overpowering protein base for a range of sauces and toppings.

Poke sauce is usually a mix of soy sauce, sesame oil, a splash of citrus and a dash of pepper for heat, but like everything modern poke, it is endlessly customizable. At Grubby’s Poke & Fish Market, our house-made poke sauce comes in mild or spicy, and we also offer an array of alternative sauces like spicy mayo, ginger ponzu, and eel sauce.

Poke bowls are an inherently healthy meal option, especially compared to other quick-service establishments. Sushi-grade fish that’s marinated instead of fried provides all the health benefits of fish, like brain-boosting Omega-3 oils, without the extra fat you get with frying. Plus, the incredible variety of vegetable toppings available with Grubby’s poke bowls means you can get more than your daily veggie servings in one meal. View More On: Vegan + Vegetarian Poke Options

How many calories are in a poke bowl?

Poke bowls are a great way to eat fast and healthy, but like all customizable meals, the calorie count will vary depending on which ingredients you choose. A basic poke bowl with white or brown rice topped with ahi, poke sauce and veggies will run about 700 calories or fewer.

If you substitute cucumber noodles for rice and choose tofu, ginger ponzu sauce and veggies, the calorie count will be much lower, around 350 calories. If you’re not watching your waistline, you can choose tortilla chips, salmon, spicy mayo, onion crisps and avocado, and bring that calorie count up to 985, which is still lower than a single cheeseburger. View More On: Average Amount of Calories in a Poke Bowl

Poke bowls are a great way to eat fast and healthy, but like all customizable meals, the calorie count will vary depending on which ingredients you choose. A basic poke bowl with white or brown rice topped with ahi, poke sauce and veggies will run about 700 calories or fewer.

If you substitute cucumber noodles for rice and choose tofu, ginger ponzu sauce and veggies, the calorie count will be much lower, around 350 calories. If you’re not watching your waistline, you can choose tortilla chips, salmon, spicy mayo, onion crisps and avocado, and bring that calorie count up to 985, which is still lower than a single cheeseburger. View More On: Average Amount of Calories in a Poke Bowl

A poke bar is just another name for a poke restaurant that specializes in customizable poke bowls. It doesn’t necessarily mean a bar that serves cocktails and poke, but we will note that Grubby’s Poke serves a selection of beer, wine, and sake to enjoy with your poke bowl.

The short answer: with your mouth. The long answer: with rice, sauce, and vegetables in a bowl, in whatever combination makes you happiest. As for utensils, you can use either chopsticks or a fork, whichever floats your boat.

In the Hawaiian language, you pronounce every syllable of every word, so poke is pronounced “poh-kay” (like “okay”), not “poki” or “poke” (like the verb). The friendly folks at Grubby’s won’t blink if you pronounce it incorrectly.

The word “poke” in Hawaiian means “to slice or cut into pieces,” referring to the fish in poke bowls that are cut into uniform, bite-size chunks.

Poke originated in Hawaii, but not in the kitchen of some fancy restaurant. The dish’s history goes back decades, when fishermen would catch smaller reef fish, slice them into chunks, and serve them raw and seasoned with on-hand condiments like sea salt, seaweed, and a brown algae called limu.