I'm not a big fan of seaweed. So when making Poke last night, I wondered how fennel fronds would be as a substitution, since seaweed is a pretty prominent ingredient in Poke. It's mostly texture and appearance, and the fronds don't really have a strong fennel flavor, so why not? I had a gorgeous piece of Ahi from the Santa Monica Seafood Market, and I wanted Poke.
It worked out wonderful -- Fresh and clean, a nice adaptation.
Ingredients:
Serves 2-4
6 ounces sushi grade Ahi, cubed/diced (whatever your size preference)
4 TBSP finely diced sweet Maui or Walla Walla onion
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp canola oil
1/4 cup chopped fennel fronds
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp soy sauce
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix well. Serve at room temperature with your favorite crackers. Makes 4 nice appetizers, or 2 really nice appetizers.
The texture of the fronds did the trick, added a bit of freshness to the recipe, along with the tiny squeeze of lemon I added -- not lemony and no real fennel flavor. Just fresh tuna with no fishy seaweed.
