Dock to Dish: Hawaiʻi's Love Affair with Fresh-Caught Ahi

In Hawaiʻi, the day's tuna can travel from the deep Pacific to your plate in a matter of hours. Ahi — yellowfin and bigeye tuna — is the prized centerpiece of island seafood, seared, served raw as sashimi, or cubed into poke. It all begins in the pre-dawn dark at the Honolulu fish auction, one of the last of its kind in the country.

The Auction Floor

Before sunrise, whole tuna are laid out on the auction floor, their tails cut to reveal the deep-red flesh that buyers inspect by eye and touch. Restaurants and markets bid for the best fish, and the freshest of it ends up at counters like the fictional Pier 9 Fish Company hours later.

Cooking with Ahi

Great ahi needs almost nothing: a quick sear leaving the center rare, a sprinkle of salt, maybe a dab of wasabi and shoyu. Buy sashimi-grade from a trusted fishmonger, keep it cold, and resist the urge to overcook — with fish this good, less is always more.

The best thing you can do to a piece of Hawaiian ahi is get out of its way.

On the Plate

• Ahi means yellowfin and bigeye tuna
• The Honolulu fish auction runs before dawn
• Serve it seared rare, as sashimi, or in poke
• Buy sashimi-grade and keep it very cold

Bring an appetite and an open mind; the islands reward both.