Quick Tips

There are many ways one could chose to celebrate National Eat Junk Food Day — a holiday with unknown origins where you’re given the excuse to eat all the junk food your glutinous heart desires in one day. You could eat everything off of McDonald’s sec…

Behold: the poke bowl, in all its mysterious glory. It’s a culinary conundrum that few on the continental U.S. can pronounce. (It’s POH-keh, by the way.)

These treasures have long been a staple in the Hawaiian islands for centuries, yet only now are they sweeping the nation as a must-have food trend.

Poke is cooked and raw, hot and cold — all at the same time. It resembles a beautifully crafted Chipotle burrito bowl, but with a sushi twist; it’s both a comfort food and a healthy meal.

And if we haven’t convinced you to try one yet, this might:

So, just how does one craft their very own tasty bowl of raw, chewy, sometimes crunchy goodness? To find that out, we went to the land from which it came (Hawaii) and asked the experts: Al Cobb-Adams, owner of Da Poke Shack, currently number one on Yelp’s Top 100, and chef Andres Bravo, a former sushi chef-turned-private chef for Hale Aina, who was trained at the famed 2-Michelin star Mugaritz and has privately cooked for a lineup of A-list celebs, including Rihanna, Jessica Simpson and Alanis Morissette.

Turns out, it’s both surprisingly easy and challenging — and we wouldn’t expect anything less. First, we begin with the basics:

1. The Rice
As the first layer of the bowl, rice counterbalances the fishy taste of the raw poke (which means “to cut into pieces” in Hawaiian). Chef Bravo recommends using white rice, seasoned with rice vinegar and chopped kambu or seaweed.

“Coming from a sushi background, I’ve learned that rice is very important when served with raw fish,” Bravo said. “You want to have a good quality rice.” For the highest quality bowl, he suggests using short grain Japanese sushi rice, but regular white rice is also sufficient and can be swapped with brown rice if desired.

2. The Fish
Both chef Bravo and Cobb-Adams agree: Fresh fish is the most important ingredient in a poke bowl. The fresher, the better. Ahi tuna, or yellowfin tuna, is the most common choice used in the islands, but Cobb-Adams suggests bluefin tuna, commonly found on the East Coast, as the best option.

When choosing a fish, consider these three things: smell (“Fresh fish should have a very light fish smell — almost no smell,” he says), color (fresh tuna should be a bright crimson red) and texture (firm to the touch).

Cobb-Adams has also tried using marlin and salmon, and says other fish varieties can be tested. “The fattier the fish, the better it will taste,” he says. He also strongly advises against using anything that is farm-raised or frozen. “Fish is one of the last free range meats you can buy,” he says, adding that farmed fish are fed man-made foods — “unnatural stuff” — which turns the fish meat into “something else.”

3. The Cut
Bravo first cuts his fish into filets, “like the ones you see in the window at the sushi bar,” he says. From there, he cuts them into cubes. Cobb-Adams says its best to cut “with the grain, not against it,” to avoid perforated edges. After it’s cut into cubes, salt the fish to taste using Hawaiian or sea salt.

The size of the cube depends on personal taste. “A lot of local people and Hawaiians love the taste of fish,” Cobb-Adams says, “so having a big piece to chew on is no problem.” People who don’t like the fishy taste can opt for smaller cubes to better taste the bowl’s dressings.

4. The Poke Sauce And Garnishes
This is where Bravo and Cobb-Adams disagree. Bravo believes that poke should remain simple, like its original Hawaiian form. “It is what it is,” he says. “Use super fresh shoyu (soy sauce) and a few other ingredients, preferably locally-sourced, but you don’t want to stray too far from there.”

Cobb-Adams is more daring in his approach. “You can almost do anything with poke,” he says. “You can walk down the aisles of your supermarket and if you think it tastes good, throw it into your poke and toss it. Honestly, whatever tastes good to you.”

The Basics: sliced brown onion, chopped green onion, slices of avocado, lightly drizzled soy sauce, roe, cherry tomatoes and sesame seeds.

For Spicy Poke: blend chili peppers with Hawaiian sea salt and a light drizzle of olive oil until it turns into a paste; mix in with mayonnaise and unagi (eel) sauce to taste. (Recipe by Al Cobb-Adams, Da Poke Shack)

5. The Look
“Everything I do is by taste and sight,” Cobb-Adams says. “You can have a prime cut of ahi, but if you don’t make it look presentable, people will look at it and say, ‘That’s gross! I won’t eat it.’ “

Bravo would agree. He says that contrast and color is an important part of a beautifully crafted poke bowl. For his clients, he sometimes adds fried wontons to the bowl to give it a nice crisp texture; sometimes he adds shredded carrot to brighten up the dish.

He also warns against serving the poke flat. “You want to give your dish some height,” he says — thus, a bowl is used. “If you take a spoonful of poke and simply dump it in the bowl,” he adds, “it won’t look appetizing.” To remedy this, form a mound of poke over the rice so that it has a point at the top, like a pyramid.

6. Pulling It All Together
     1. Put the freshly cut cubes of ahi into a large bowl, sprinkle sea salt to taste.
     2. Add and toss soy sauce or desired sauce to taste, just enough to coat the cubes.
     3. Put a scoop of rice in a single serve bowl.
     4. Pour the seasoned poke over the rice, creating a mound.
     5. Add final touches and garnishing.
     6. Sprinkle the bowl with furikake seasoning.

Voilà! Enjoy immediately, while rice is hot and poke is cold.

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BEIJING (AP) — A suspect meat scandal in China engulfed Starbucks and Burger King on Tuesday and spread to Japan where McDonald’s said the Chinese supplier accused of selling expired beef and chicken had provided 20 percent of the meat for its chicken nuggets.

Chinese authorities expanded their investigation of the meat supplier, Shanghai company Husi Food Co. A day after Husi’s food processing plant in Shanghai was sealed by the China Food and Drug Administration, the agency said Tuesday that inspectors also will look at its facilities and meat sources in five provinces in central, eastern and southern China.

The scandal surrounding Husi Food, which is owned by OSI Group of Aurora, Illinois, has added to a string of safety scares in China over milk, medicines and other goods that have left the public wary of dairies, restaurants and other suppliers.

Food safety violations will be “severely punished,” the food agency said on its website.

Starbucks Corp. on Tuesday said it removed from its shelves sandwiches made with chicken that originated at Husi. Burger King Corp. said it stopped using hamburger it received from a supplier that used product from Husi. Pizza restaurant chain Papa John’s International Inc. announced it stopped using meat from Husi.

In Japan, McDonald’s Corp. said it stopped selling McNuggets at more than 1,300 outlets that used chicken supplied by Husi. It said the Shanghai company had been supplying chicken to it since 2002.

A Shanghai broadcaster, Dragon TV, reported Sunday that Husi repackaged old beef and chicken and put new expiration dates on them. It said they were sold to McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants.

McDonald’s and Yum Brands Inc., which owns KFC and Pizza Hut, said they immediately stopped using meat from Husi. A third restaurant chain, Taiwanese-owned Dicos, also said Monday it stopped using meat from Husi.

In a statement, Husi said it was “appalled by the report” and would cooperate with the investigation. It promised to share the results with the public.

“Our company management believes this to be an isolated event, but takes full responsibility for the situation and will take appropriate actions swiftly and comprehensively,” Husi said.

Some companies said they didn’t deal with Husi but had discovered their suppliers bought meat from that company.

Food and drug safety is an unusually sensitive issue in China following scandals over the past decade in which infants, hospital patients and others have been killed or sickened by phony or adulterated milk powder, drugs and other goods.

Foreign fast food brands are seen as more reliable than Chinese competitors, though local brands have made big improvements in quality.

“If confirmed, the practices outlined in the report are completely unacceptable to McDonald’s,” the company’s Chinese business said in a statement.

Yum’s KFC is China’s biggest restaurant chain, with more than 4,000 outlets and plans to open 700 more this year.

The company, based in Louisville, Kentucky, said in a statement that “food safety is the most important priority for us.”

“We will not tolerate any violations of government laws and regulations from our suppliers,” it said.

KFC sales in China plunged after state television reported in December 2013 some poultry suppliers violated rules on drug use in chickens. KFC overhauled quality controls and eliminated more than 1,000 small poultry producers from its supply network.

In Japan, McDonald’s spokesman Kenji Kaniya said the affected stores are in Tokyo area and the cities of Nagano and Shizuoka.

Other chicken used by McDonald’s in Japan comes from suppliers in Thailand and China, Kaniya said.

___

Associated Press researcher Fu Ting in Shanghai and AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.

In Los Angeles, food trucks are heralded as “the new incubators of culinary innovation.”

Vendors line the streets in neighborhoods all over town, offering customers everything from Korean tacos to lobster rolls to wood-oven pizza.

But in other citie…

Most thieves steal money, jewels, or cars, but a knife-wielding thug in Adelaide, Australia, is interested in a far less valuable commodity: Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

Since the city’s first Krispy Kreme opened on July 4, there’s been a line out the door from Australians ready to trade their Vegemite for glazed doughnuts.

But what was a sweet event for pastry lovers was tinged with a sour note July 16 when two teenagers were robbed of six boxes of doughnuts.

The teen victims told police they were getting in their car when a man approached them and threatened them with a knife.

He then demanded the pair stay in the car while he grabbed the glazed goodies from the back seat and high-tailed it out of there, Adelaide Now reports.

The doughnut thief was described as a Caucasian aged 16 to 20, about 5-feet, 4 inches, wearing a black hooded jumper and black track pants, according to the Australian.

One of the victims, a 17-year-old boy who asked not to be identified, is still surprised by the theft.

“It’s pretty bad, like you think he’d like take the money or something, but he took the doughnuts,” he told Yahoo! Australia.

Store manager Mark Higginbottom believes the robbery was an isolated incident, but is beefing up security just in case.

Although he has promised to replace the stolen doughnuts, the boys say they are too frightened to revisit the store.

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BREAKING! July is National Ice Cream Month! Whether you like chocolate or vanilla, you’d rather enjoy a cone versus a sundaes, or you prefer sprinkles or hot fudge (or both!), treating yourself to a dip of this sweet treat is always a good idea. Lately, ice cream has gotten the gourmet treatment, and shops around American are mixing up some pretty unusual (and still delicious) flavors, but that doesn’t mean that old-school ice cream parlors are any less tasty– some things don’t need to change! In honor of National Ice Cream month, here are our suggestions for America’s tastiest ice cream flavors, and consult the map (see full size map here) to find out how long it’ll take to get to the ice cream shop that tickles your fancy the most. Ready to dig in?

Tom’s Ice Cream Bowl (Zanesville, Ohio) Known for: Tin Roof Sundae. This local gem has been scooping up sundaes since 1948. The old-school atmosphere is authentic, and the ice cream is to die for. The tin roof sundae is a simple scoop of ice cream topped with warm, gooey hot fudge and salty, fresh-roasted peanuts– nothing too fancy, but it’s guaranteed to satisfy any sweet tooth. 

Sweet Action Ice Cream (Denver, Colorado) Known for: milk chocolate. With always-changing, offbeat flavors like blueberry waffle, garam masala, avocado, and maple pale ale, it may seem foolish to order one of the most basic flavors on the menu, but their milk chocolate is legendary. It’s a far cry from the freezer-burned carton of chocolate in the back of your freezer– one bite will make you question everything you ever knew about milk, chocolate, milk chocolate, and ice cream.

Bi-Rite Creamery & Bakeshop (San Francisco, California) Known for: The Trifecta. This sundae is a staff-approved favorite! You get one scoop each of their salted caramel flavor, the brown sugar with ginger swirl, and the malted vanilla, and it’s topped with peanut brittle and chocolate– the perfect complements to the rich, sweet and salty sundae.

Sweet Republic (Scottsdale, Arizona) Known for: Toffee Banofi sundae. The Toffee Banofi sundae is a mind-blowingly amazing twist on the banana split with vanilla bean ice cream topped with fresh bananas, toffee brittle, and whipped cream and drizzled with salted caramel sauce. AND, as if things couldn’t get better, it comes in a waffle cone bowl. If that doesn’t make your mouth water, then you should have your tastebuds checked.

Amy’s Ice Cream (Austin, Texas) Known for: Mexican Vanilla. Once again, basic doesn’t have to mean boring. This rich, sweet ice cream starts with a sweet cream base and has ample amounts of Mexican vanilla added in. Besides, the advantage of ordering a scoop of this vanilla is that it pairs well with just about any other flavor that Amy’s offers: try it with their apple pie, Brandy Alexander, Chai tea, custard donut, or maple bacon flavors (and that’s just naming a few!)

Toscanini’s Ice Cream (Cambridge, Massachusetts) Known for: burnt caramel. Tosci (as the locals call it) has a cozy coffee shop vibe, and while they do brew java, they also make a mean burnt caramel ice cream (among roughly 40 other equally awesome flavors)– and if you’re feeling like eating healthy, they make it as a frozen yogurt too!

Bubbies Homemade Ice Cream & Desserts (Honolulu, Hawaii) Known for: mochi ice cream. This is ice cream like you’ve never experienced before– Bubbies serves the truffle-like mochis, which are essentially little scoops of ice cream wrapped in a shell of Japanese sticky rice, in several flavors, in addition to scoops and slices of ice cream pie. It’s worth it to try at least one mochi; you’ll probably wind up going back for another!

Pumphouse Creamery (Minneapolis, Minnesota) Known for: Peanut butter doggie ice cream. Yep, this place literally makes ice cream for your pooch. They only use peanut butter and milk so it’s totally safe, and your dog will love it on a hot summer day– plus all the proceeds from the doggie ice cream are given to rescue groups! And don’t worry, humans will love their regular ice cream offerings as well. Rum raisin, Door County cherry, and mint chocolate chip are all guaranteed to hit the spot!

Creole Creamery (New Orleans, Louisiana) Known for: Creole cream cheese. You may want to invest in the 6 for $6 sampler because this New Orleans parlor offers a lot of options– but make sure to make one of them the Creole cream cheese. It’s a tangy and sweet confection made with a local type of curddled cream cheese. If that sampler still wasn’t enough to curb your craving for ice cream, then try to tackle the Tchoupitoulas Sundae Challenge– 8 scoops of ice cream, 8 toppings, and a pile of whipped cream, cherries and wafers. Those who finish the challenge alone will be immortalized in their Hall of Fame– but the real prize is how delicious the ice cream is.

Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream (Seattle, Washington) Known for: melted chocolate. Just the image that “melted chocolate” elicits makes this flavor stand out about other chocolates, and the fact that it’s made with organic, fair trade chocolate from local sweet shop Theo’s makes it even better. They clearly value local ingredients, since their wonderful coffee flavor is made with locally-roasted beans from Stumptown. Drool.

Ample Hills Creamery (Brooklyn, New York) Known for: salted crack caramel. This addictively sweet and salty flavor lives up to its name– salted butter caramel ice cream is loaded with bits of crack cookies, which are made chocolate, butter, sugar and saltine crackers. In fact, people get so hooked on the flavor that they keep coming back for more, and it frequently sells out; get there early and order a scoop (or three!) The good news is that they do happen to be sold out of what you want, you really can’t go wrong with any of their flavors.

Moomers Homemade Ice Cream (Traverse City Michigan) Known for: cherries moobilee. It’s like cherries jubilee but a million times better, since it’s been mixed up into sweet, dreamy ice cream. The black cherry base is loaded with sweet black cherries, a chocolate swirl and chunks of chocolate brownies. You can also tour their dairy farm or the ice cream store (which includes an ice cream tasting!!) 

HONORABLE MENTION: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams (Columbus, Ohio) Known for: Salty caramel. Jeni’s has spread out to bring its deliciousness to several states, but stop into one of the original locations in Ohio for a scoop of homemade goodness. Their salty caramel is a classic that pairs well with their dark chocolate, Buckeye State or my personal favorite, brown butter almond brittle. 

What do you think? Did we miss any? Find your favorite with our interactive map and let us know in the comments below!

America’s Dreamiest Ice Cream | My Bucket List itinerary on Roadtrippers.com!