01x10 - Zen and the Art of Poke

[bunniefuu]

[ICE SCRAPING]

[INQUISITIVE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Look, look, look, look,
look, look, look, look.

DOCK WORKER: Hey, hey, hey, hey!

DOCK WORKER:
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

DOCK WORKER: Okay, okay.
DOCK WORKER: All right.

This is crazy.

It looks so beautiful.

And yet, it's just a really
nice spicy tuna roll probably.

[LAUGHS]

[TWANGY GUITAR MUSIC]

I came to America
when I was four.

I'm an immigrant,
and I'm not alone.

I've spent my life
writing about food

and tasting the world.

Now, I want to explore
who we are

through the food we eat.

My game is strong.

What exactly is American food?

And what makes us American?

I'm Padma Lakshmi.

Come with me
as we taste the nation.

[LIGHT WOODWIND MUSIC]

♪ ♪

A walk down the street
in Honolulu

just might fool you
into thinking

you're on another island
further across the Pacific.

♪ ♪

Japanese culture on Oahu
can be felt everywhere,

from its sidewalks
to its shores,

but especially in the food.

RESTAURANTEUR: Today you can go
to the 7‐Eleven markets

and they'll have, like,
onigiri, Japanese rice ba*ls.

RESTAURATEUR: There's okazuya
shops all over the place

been open for generations.

I mean, everything we eat

basically teriyaki sauce,
sushi, sashimi

it's everywhere.

PADMA: Japanese influences
are even present

in the most quintessential
Hawaiian dish‐‐poke.

I mean, poke is Hawaiian,
but again,

you put a lot of Japanese
ingredients in there.

We love it.

PADMA: But the impact
of Japanese immigration

on this island goes
far beyond food.

Japanese techniques,
traditions, and values

have been folded into
the Hawaiian way of life,

making a lasting imprint.

A beautiful harmony has emerged

as this immigrant group
was welcomed

and allowed to help shape
its new home.

♪ ♪

Can the graceful fusion
found on these shores

be a model for how immigration
can look and taste elsewhere?

Perhaps we can learn
from this oasis.

Perhaps we can all find
our own paradise.

[DEEP BASS MUSIC]

Surrounded by ocean,

native Hawaiians took what
they needed from local waters,

but the Japanese introduction
of longline fishing

expanded the reach
beyond the reef

into the deep sea
where the big fish live.

And you can't talk big fish
without talking tuna.

♪ ♪

The Honolulu Fish Auction
is an example

of how Japanese technology
has changed Hawaiian food.

♪ ♪

Modeled after the Tsukiji
Fish Market in Tokyo,

this auction thrives on a
high demand for quality fish.

AUCTIONEER:
[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

PADMA: On a busy day like today,

over 80,000 pounds of fish
are up for bidding,

much of it destined for sushi,
sashimi, and poke.

♪ ♪

And if there's one man
that knows poke,

it's Guy Tamashiro,

the third generation owner
of Tamashiro Market,

which sells over 20 varieties
of poke a day.

♪ ♪

Guy has just placed
the winning bid

on a huge ahi.

Congratulations
on your big, fat fish.

[LAUGHTER] It's very rotund.

GUY: This particular fish,

just the different quality
that it has.

How can you tell? Okay.

One, we look at the eye.

You see that slight blue ring
to it?

That's a indication
of freshness.

And then, if you look at it,
it's a nice, rounded fish.

PADMA: And the round body means‐.

It ate well.

PADMA: It had a happy life.
GUY: Yeah.

This particular one has
nice color to it.

If you look between
the long, white lines,

there's tiny,
little, white lines.

PADMA: So this can be eaten
just raw.

GUY: Yeah. Best eaten raw.

I can see all
the, um, marbling now

that you mentioned [GASPS]

GUY: [LAUGHS] Good catch.

- It tastes really good.
- Oh, good, good.

[LIVELY MUSIC]

♪ ♪

PADMA: Tamashiro Market was

originally
a pork and feed store.

But eventually,
they swapped pork for poke.

With Japanese fishing techniques

bringing more and more tuna
to the island,

Guy's family embraced
the ocean's bounty,

and their business boomed.

GUY: Hi, Padma.

I heard you're gonna
come work for us.

[LAUGHS]

PADMA: I remember you.

♪ ♪

What are you doing?

GUY:
First, we get rid of the head.

BOTH: Yay. There we go.

PADMA: That's a beautiful cut.

GUY: Then... ah, there we go.

This one is
the fatty section of it.

Get the nori. Okay.

I'm making the perfect bite.
GUY: That's right.

[HIP‐HOP MUSIC]

Mmm. GUY: [LAUGHS]

All right.
PADMA: It's so silky, so fatty.

It's almost like eating
fish butter.

GUY: Yeah.

PADMA: You use that fish
with sushi rice.

GUY: Mm‐hmm.

PADMA: And then what do
the Hawaiians do?

GUY: Well, the same fish,
but they use limu, or seaweed,

you know, Hawaiian salt,
and chili peppers.

PADMA: And that becomes‐‐.

GUY: And that's
their basic poke.

The Hawaiians used
to do that already.

And then,
with Japanese influence,

some of the other
ingredients changed

like the nori and,
like, adding furikake.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

PADMA: Legend has it
that poke originated

as the result
of Hawaiian fisherman

scaling, chopping, and eating
their fresh catch raw.

But with the introduction
of Japanese ingredients

including sushi rice,

poke made its way into a bowl.

Guy's family has
been experimenting

with different flavors
ever since.

GUY: Okay, so let's try
this one first

the ahi limu.

PADMA: So can I just
take a little poke?

GUY: Yep, yep.

PADMA:
Is that where it comes from?

It actually means
"cut up," you know?

- Cut up, in this case, fish.
- Mm‐hmm.

Mmm. What's that yellow?
GUY: That's the yuzu.

They infuse the yuzu
into the tobiko,

which is a flying fish roe.

That's the roe? GUY: Yup.

Mmm.

The yuzu really comes out
when you bite the roe.

- Uh‐huh, through the pops.
- It pops.

PADMA: Yuzu, a citrus fruit
bursting with tartness

and a bouquet of floral notes,

is one of my favorite
Japanese ingredients.

GUY: The ingredients that
we grew up with,

we were able to add it
to other things that we like.

So by the '70s, all these
different varieties

we started coming up with

that made it more fun,
I thought.

You know, 'cause poke‐‐
everybody eats poke.

PADMA: As their techniques
and flavors

were so well‐embraced
by the local Hawaiians,

distinct traces
of Japanese origin

became harder to detect.

♪ ♪

[LIGHT ELECTRONIC MUSIC]

Chris Kajioka is
the chef and co‐owner

of Honolulu restaurant, Senia.

♪ ♪

Born on American soil,

Chris hardly considered
his Japanese heritage.

But as his culinary
pursuit evolved,

he realized his roots were
an asset to his cooking.

My day with Chris begins
on a sugar plantation,

similar to the ones
his ancestors worked on.

♪ ♪

Did you come to sugarcane
fields when you were...

No, you take it for granted

when you grow up here, you know?

- Yeah, so you never visited?
- No.

I just grew up like
a regular American kid.

♪ ♪

There you go.
Let me try to get in there.

I didn't have Japanese food
growing up, so‐.

So they didn't even
cook that food at home.

CHRIS: No.

Meatloaf, pot roast

that's, like, really
what I grew up eating

'cause that's what my mom
grew up eating.

Meat and potatoes.
CHRIS: Meat and potatoes.

Which is crazy, you know, being
from Hawaii, being Japanese.

♪ ♪

PADMA: Chris, what's going
through your mind? [LAUGHS]

CHRIS:
This is back‐breaking work,

and I just can't imagine
doing this all day.

PADMA: We hacked sugarcane
for 20 minutes,

and it was
absolutely exhausting.

It's crazy to me to imagine
early laborers working here

from dawn to dusk
in this blinding Pacific sun.

[PANTING] It's hard.

CHRIS: It's definitely hard.

And also, like, today's
not that hot of a day.

CHRIS: Yeah.

Can you imagine if it's, like,



A mere glimpse of what
his ancestors endured

helps Chris understand what
it took to get him here.

CHRIS:
My grandfather and his parents

both worked in Hali'imaile,

which is a huge plantation
village which is still there.

And they were really,
um, very close‐mouthed

about it, right?

What they went through
on the plantation,

you know, that's not something
that you want your kids

or your grandkids to know
that you struggled.

[HOPEFUL MUSIC]

RESTAURANTEUR:
The Japanese tradition

and the word is ganbatte.

That means
to basically "persevere"

in spite of whatever life
throws at you.

You keep quiet,
and you keep working at it.

I mean, there's a lot of
shortcuts that can be taken,

but sometimes
you gotta ganbatte.

♪ ♪

PADMA: The story
of Japanese immigration

to Hawaii is one
of perseverance.

And that story began in 1868
with 148 Japanese laborers

who were recruited to work
on sugarcane plantations.

These immigrants
and the generations to follow

worked through sometimes
horrendous conditions

to build a flourishing
community here.

By the mid‐1920s,

43% of the Hawaiian population
was Japanese

or of Japanese descent.

Many in this growing community

settled into a more
Western way of life.

This was the case
for much of Chris's family,

including his Auntie Lily
who we are meeting for lunch.

Like my father,
I can't get over,

he was so Westernized.

Oh, I tell you.
He didn't like sushi.

[LAUGHTER]

LILY: He told my mother,
"Why do you make it?"

She said,
"Well, others like it."

[LAUGHTER]

And she would give it
to the neighbors.

I guess that's why everybody
got along, you know?

When the w*r started,
she started to cry,

so a Filipino‐Hawaiian neighbor
came to comfort her.

PADMA: In 1941,
the Japanese attacked

the American military base
at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu,

further escalating World w*r II.

LILY: My brothers said
they saw all this smoke

and black spots in the sky.

And Diamond Head
he saw fighter planes

flying to Pearl Harbor.

Oh, they were so afraid.

My mother, because
she was an alien,

she cried and cried.

And she had a lot
of memorabilias from Japan,

and one in particular
was a beautiful replica

of the emperor's white horse,

but they had to burn everything
because they were so afraid.

[SOLEMN MUSIC]

PADMA: Within months
of the attack on Pearl Harbor,

the government began
rounding up people

with as little as


and putting them
in internment camps.

Japanese‐Americans were kept
in these horrific camps

for the next four years.

Sound familiar?

But because the Japanese
in Hawaii

were the predominant workforce
on the islands,

most were spared the internment

that those Japanese
on the mainland faced.

My brother was about 17
at that time.

And all his friends wanted
to show their allegiance

to the United States, so
they wanted to join the army.

Well, my brother said,
"I have no ties to Japan."

So when the w*r started,
it was nothing to them

they were Americans.

PADMA: Many young Japanese men
enlisted in the U. S. Army.

Members of the community
hurried to blend in.

This ability
to immerse themselves

in the American way of life

is part
of the success story here.

But the expense
of that assimilation

is a trove
of lost family history.

CHRIS: Talking to my aunties,

you know, you didn't
really wanna stick out.

You know, you just wanted
to just‐.

Keep a low profile.
CHRIS: Keep a low profile.

You know, now that we're older,
you know, we're

I'm extremely proud
to be Japanese.

What happened as a catalyst
for you to start being curious?

I think cuisine
was the catalyst, to be honest.

- Food.
- Food's always a catalyst.

Especially what I do,

you know, so much history‐‐
cuisine there goes back‐‐.

PADMA: 1,000 years at least.
CHRIS: Yeah, 1,000 years.

And the craft of cooking,
they take so seriously there.

[LIGHT GUITAR MUSIC]

♪ ♪

It's delicious.

This sugarcane and its juice

frothy, almost creamy and sweet

are so much more
than just ingredients.

They tell the story
of Chris's ancestors.

To include them
in his cooking today

is to honor
his family's perseverance.

♪ ♪

By the way, my shoulder
hurts a little bit.

Just the right one, though.

So essentially,
at the core is that‐‐.

PADMA: Is this? Yeah.

This is what a chef does
to this.

CHRIS: So the first dish
we're gonna do is duck confit.

[MELANCHOLIC MUSIC]

PADMA: Chris's duck confit
relies on a thoughtful blend

of varied global influences‐‐.

Japanese, French,
even Ethiopian.

And of course,
our Hawaiian sugarcane.

The bone literally
just comes off

as confit should, so‐Okay.

CHRIS: The idea is
to skewer this.

PADMA: Exactly where
the bones were.

CHRIS: Exactly where the bone
is, and that's the sugarcane.

PADMA: That's genius.

Is this duck thigh? CHRIS: Yes.

We cure it overnight
with ginger, scallions,

a little soy.

The one spice that's different
is berbere spice.

♪ ♪

PADMA: So tell me
about this gastrique.

CHRIS: It's just a reduction
of the sugarcane juice.

There's a little bit
of, um, ginger.

Little bit of orange peel

and some of that berbere spice.

It's the same spice
to carry over from the cure.

PADMA: It's like a super
high‐end fried chicken

with honey on it.
CHRIS: [LAUGHS]

PADMA: Chris's cooking
is a great example

of how you can have both.

Japanese and Hawaiian influences

without losing the identity
or authenticity of either.

Mmm, that's way better
than fried chicken.

[LAUGHS]

If your poke's a few days old

and you want a different
application for it,

that's gonna be your skewer.

- Okay, is this good?
- That looks better than mine.

The idea there that‐‐
get the best ingredients,

treat it
with the utmost respect,

that's what I feel
like I do now.

- That's Japanese.
- Yeah, that's very Japanese.

PADMA: What I like
about Chris's food

is that he honors his heritage

while still creating
something all his own,

something new and worldly.

Mmm, that is delicious.

PADMA: Japanese immigrants found

that they could
share their culture,

and were welcomed in Honolulu.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

I have to think that in part,
this beautiful harmony exists

because of similarities
between Hawaii and Japan

both island cultures
who deeply value the sea.

RESTAURATEUR: Because
we're right by the ocean,

we have a abundance
of fresh seafood.

I mean, my daughter was a baby

and she was eating raw fish
or sushi.

RESTAURANTEUR:
Yes, we do love fish.

We're so closely attached
to fish.

In Japanese culture,
fish are respected.

♪ ♪

PADMA: To watch Master
Sushi Chef, Keiji Nakazawa,

at work is
a spiritual experience.

♪ ♪

After years of training,

Nakazawa opened his own
sushi counter in Tokyo.

He was recognized as one of
the most revered sushi masters

in the world.

He moved to Oahu in 2016,

excited by the challenge
of incorporating

local Hawaiian fish
into traditional Edomae sushi.

♪ ♪

Contrary to the popular notion

that sushi must be served fresh,

Edomae sushi, which originated
in ancient Tokyo,

actually uses fish marinated

and often preserved
in fermented rice.

Vinegar and koji, a fungus,

assist with the rice's
fermentation process.

Oh. [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

Shall I do it?

PADMA: Hold on, hold on.
I wanna get it right.

I only have one piece
of fish here,

so I can't‐‐I can't‐‐.

PADMA: Okay.

He's like a magician showing me
a card trick.

[LAUGHTER]

KEIJI: Okay, good. Okay‐‐oh.

Yeah? Okay. Good.

PADMA: What is it
that attracted you

to Hawaii specifically?

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

PADMA: Opa, or moonfish, used
to go somewhat overlooked.

But Nakazawa treasures
this more local catch

and the opportunity
to combine it

with other Hawaiian ingredients

like this finger lime.

Oh, this is a great ingredient‐‐
the fish roe of the citrus family.

Okay.

Mmm. Very nice.

[SPEAKS JAPANESE]
Hawaii, Hawaii, Hawaii.

All Hawaiian. Mm‐hmm.

PADMA: With a deep respect
for these local resources

and an even deeper connection
to his heritage,

Nakazawa makes something
both unique and sustainable.

And it's damn near perfect.

♪ ♪

RESTAURANTEUR: If we take life
from the ocean,

it's something really precious

and it's something we celebrate.

So that's part of
how much respect

we have for the nature
and what we are blessed with.

Japanese always did show
respect at resources

that supported society.

♪ ♪

PADMA: Resourcefulness
and reciprocity

are incredibly important values

in both Hawaiian
and Japanese cultures.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

Do you guys go out
every single day?

If I go out even once a week,
I have more than enough food...

PADMA: Kimi Werner
and Randy Kosaki

are half‐siblings who share
a passion for the ocean.

♪ ♪

Kimi, a national
spearfishing champion,

and Randy, a researcher
and conservationist,

share the same
Japanese‐American mother,

but didn't grow up together.

They finally met 13 years ago.

And how was that meeting?

I mean, it was

it was a little
nerve‐wracking at first,

me being the girl
that kills fish,

I'm like, "Is he gonna like me?"

Well, you know,
I'm a conservation biologist.

Um, but I don't see
conservation and fishing

as being polar opposites
as some people do.

They really‐‐they're two sides
of the same coin.

I think it's about making sure
that the fish that we take‐,

or anything that we eat really

is sustainably sourced
and ethically sourced.

PADMA: A more sustainable
approach to fishing

is becoming increasingly
important in Hawaii

as tuna is being overfished

and over 80% of
the state's food is imported.

♪ ♪

It's a crucial time
to recognize the resources

available in more local waters.

KIMI: I mean, the reason
why I choose spearfishing

as a way to get food is just
because there's no by‐catch,

meaning you're indiscriminately

throwing a net

and pulling up things that you
might not have been targeting.

It's really just‐‐selectively
take just what you need.

Okay, so what's
involved here? [LAUGHS]

I just wanna know what
I'm risking my life for today.

Well, you're risking
your life for dinner.

Okay, that's fair.

KIMI: But I think you're
gonna be just fine.

[LIVELY MUSIC]

PADMA: All right,
I'm not a great swimmer,

or even a capable one.

But to witness
Kimi and Randy dive

is to witness something pure

the relationship
between the food we eat

and how we get it.

Kimi is one with the ocean,

and at eight months pregnant,
she's also a total badass.

♪ ♪

KIMI: The hunt isn't over

until they're prepared
with the utmost love,

until every single morsel is
accounted for and appreciated.

And not wasted.
KIMI: And not wasted.

And I know for a fact
I got that follow through part

from our mother.

So that's a surgeonfish.

Typically, we would
just fry it whole

so it's nice and crispy.

This is a goatfish.

This one you normally steam,

put some cilantro, green onions,

soy sauce, hot peanut oil.

Just little,
low on the food chain fishies

that you wanna eat
right off the bone.

♪ ♪

PADMA: How do you think
you've been shaped

by your Japanese culture?

KIMI: Even though I've been
born and raised in Hawaii,

so it doesn't seem like there's

a whole lot
of Japanese influence,

being that we don't speak
the language, and all that,

I would say through food
and through sharing.

You know, if someone gives me
avocados from their tree

and I can give them a fish,
I definitely feel like that's

something that I learned
from our Japanese mother

is just‐‐you‐‐
you share what you have,

and, um, and you don't take
without giving back.

Walking around here
and meeting a lot of people,

you know, there is this
beautiful, um, easy dance

that Hawaiian culture does
with Japanese culture.

Sometimes I'm even
a little blind to it

'cause I just grew up in it.

RANDY: Yeah, it's something
very, very familiar,

and it just kind of
works together seamlessly.

[HOPEFUL MUSIC]

PADMA: Both Japanese
and Hawaiian cultures

deeply respect the land
and its resources.

They champion hard work
and skill.

They understand
the give and take needed

to find balance with nature.

♪ ♪

In a way, it seems so obvious.

These are ideals
we should all strive for.

♪ ♪

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

- PADMA: So you grew up here?
- I grew up on the other side.

PADMA: With my bounty
from spearfishing

and tuna from Tamashiro Market,

I meet my friend,
Chef Mark Noguchi,

AKA Gooch.

MARK: You guys did good today.
Nice.

PADMA: Well, we got
those two little fish.

I think those might be better
for frying.

MARK: Oh, totally.

PADMA: All right,
so what can I do for you?

MARK: Well, let's clean.

PADMA: Gooch, a former
professional hula dancer,

learned to cook while
on the hula tour circuit.

Now his Japanese‐American
ancestry defines his cooking.

Good.

Food is so personal
to us, right?

It's‐‐It's‐‐It's our heritage,
it's our past,

it's‐‐it's my ancestors.

- Our future, also.
- It's our future.

There's a old Hawaiian saying,
"Nana I ke kumu,"

which means
"look to the source."

So in other words, to know,
like, where we're gonna go,

we need to understand
where we came from.

PADMA: There is perhaps no dish

that better represents
the past, present, and future

of the Japanese community
in Hawaii than poke.

You wanna do that one?

PADMA:
And I finally get to make it.

MARK:
You're gonna get your knife,

wield it all the way through
until you see the other side,

and just slide straight down.

Attagirl! Okay.

Now I butchered this.

MARK: No one would judge you
for your first time doing it.

And we'll still make
awesome poke.

Okay, it's all right 'cause
we're not serving fillets,

we're serving poke. Correct.

PADMA: So what makes a good
traditional poke?

MARK: I think what makes
a really great poke

was the fact that you can
still taste the fish.

So, you know, being
a local Japanese boy,

my favorite poke is
still a good shoyu poke.

[ROCK MUSIC]

PADMA: Shoyu poke is
the quintessential poke

a perfect blend of Hawaiian
and Japanese ingredients.

And shoyu, by the way,
is just soy sauce,

but Hawaiians rightfully
call it by its Japanese name.

MARK: Cut.

Just, you know, honor the fish,

honor your ingredient.

PADMA: That sesame oil,
red chili, shoyu‐‐.

MARK: A little bit of shoyu,
a little bit of green onions,

and last but not least‐‐
this is called manauea.

PADMA: So this is
traditional limu, or seaweed.

Yeah, it complements the fish.

It's got this iodining
sort of thing going on.

I see. Mmm.

I like the texture too.
It bites back when you bite it.

MARK: Right.

[RELAXING MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Pass‐‐it's okay? Oh.

[LAUGHTER]

Keeping it real over here.

[LAUGHS]

- "Yeah!"
- No, I think it's perfect.

I think this poke is perfect.
MARK: [LAUGHS]

Definitely complements
the place that we're at.

It's beautiful. Taste it.

- What do you think?
- I think it's pretty good.

PADMA: Hey, guys.
RANDY: Oh, wow.

PADMA: We have some poke.
MARK: For hanging out!

PADMA: By looking to the past,
we can see the values

that have helped the
Japanese‐American community

have such a full
and felt presence on Oahu.

Humility, perseverance,
and resourcefulness

complement the local culture
of Hawaii so beautifully

that they've allowed for
an almost seamless blend.

And as I look across the ocean

and think of distant
American shores,

I wonder

can this graceful fusion
be a model for immigration

in the rest
of the United States?

An example of what happens
when another culture is

treated with graciousness
and respect.

What happens when, as a nation,

we stop saying "no"
to one another,

and start to say, "Aloha"?

♪ ♪

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[BRIGHT GUITAR STRUMMING]

[MUNCHES] Delicious!