After enjoying my fair share of seafood in Oahu and at Sam's Chowder House, I had a craving for one of my favorites dishes, tuna poke, and I decided to experiment with it at home. The key is to buy high quality tuna — either sushi or sashimi grade. Luckily, I found sushi grade tuna (imported from the Honolulu Auction) at Berkeley Bowl, a local market where many Hawaiian restaurants purchase their daily catches.

It only takes a few minutes of chopping and a couple quick stirs to prepare this dish. For extra heat, I added two types of chiles to the tuna poke. However, the spiciness is balanced by the creamy and cooling guacamole. I served mine with store-bought tortilla chips, but it would also be wonderful with freshly fried wontons or plantain chips. If you have taken the bait and want to celebrate Summer with this simply scrumptious appetizer, keep reading!.

Spicy Tuna Poke with Guacomole
Modified from Trader Vic via the Chicago Sun Times

Ingredients

1 pound of sushi grade tuna, diced into 1/4 inch cubes
1 jalapeno chili, finely chopped, remove seeds and white flesh if desired
1 Fresno chili, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 extra virgin sesame oil
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
Juice of one lime
2 avocados
salt
pepper
Cilantro leaves to garnish
1 bag of tortilla chips

Directions

1. Mix the tuna, shallot, jalapeno, Fresno Chile, sesame oil, soy sauce, cilantro in a large bowl.
2. In another bowl, mash the avocados with the lime juice. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Plate the tuna poke with the avocado on the side. Garnish with cilantro leaves and chips, if desired.

Serves 6-8.

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