Poke Bowl Hawaiian Culture Shirt - Aloha Tee, Hawaii Heritage Gift, Pacific Islander

Poke bowl. Two syllables that travel further than they used to. Ahi cubed cold, shoyu, sesame oil, scallion, sweet onion, a small mound of inamona — and a paper bowl that won't last fifteen minutes.

The word poke (POH-keh) is Hawaiian for "to cut" or "slice," and the dish is one of the oldest in the islands. Hawaiian fishermen seasoned the trimmings of their catch with pa'akai (sea salt), limu (seaweed), and 'inamona (roasted, ground kukui nut) long before contact with the outside world. Plantation-era Japanese and Chinese cooks added shoyu, sesame oil, and rice underneath, turning the canoe snack into the lunchroom staple. The modern poke bowl — ahi over hot rice with edamame and avocado — is a 21st-century evolution that crossed back to the mainland and the world.

For locals, this tee is the casual hometown brag — our lunch is somebody else's destination dish. For visitors, it's the memory of that first real Hawaiian bowl, when poke stopped being a trend and started being a place.

Soft unisex tee. Multiple sizes and colorways available.