Now that I’ve figured out the delivery days that Taro Brand poi arrives at our nearby Times Supermarket and at Foodland in Aina Haina, I’m figuring out how to keep the refrigerator stocked.
I took this photo after adding two bags fresh bags yesterday (Friday), delivery day at Times.
The two bags at the top are easily identified as the fresh poi by their color, a dark gray. I’ll leave these on the kitchen counter at room temperature for a week or so, or until needed. I’m not sure of the right word. Leaving them out to ripen?
The third bag, closest to the camera, has been out at room temperature since Thursday of the prior week, and is ready to empty into a bowl, add water if necessary, and refrigerate until the next meal. Note this poi’s reddish color, indicating some fermentation has been taking place and it’s likely to be nice and tart. In other words, ready to eat!
I’ve been eating poi in place of rice and potato, although I still cook those for Meda. And I’ve been eating a couple of bags per week in the expectation that poi is going to improve my gut health and deliver needed nutrition.
I have always preferred sour poi since small kid time. So do many of my Hawaiian friends. That was the reason that I bristled years ago at Honolulu Magazine’s “Sour Poi Awards” given to the tongue-in-cheek awards that “poke fun at the dumb, the daft, and the deranged local news, political gaffes, and wacky mishaps that occurred over the previous twelve months.” It struck me as an admission of a subtle anti-Hawaiian bias or, perhaps, simple ignorance of the fact that sour poi is the preference of many in the islands. Unfortunate, but true.
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I grew up eating sour poi with canned sardines. Simple but delicious!
The ties used to be color-coded so they’ve stopped that??? because poi was eating everyday at my grandmothers home in L?hain? I don’t ever remember it turning sour same thing at our home on Oahu . If we had it, we ate it all in one or two days but maybe more like two or three days.
Yes, ties at Times at least are still color coded.
Small kid time I added sugar to my poi. Today I want my poi as fresh as possible and buy it from Hilo Safeway. The 56 ounce bag is the cheapest. At one time I raised my own dry land taro and made poi in a Vita-Mixer..
Sour poi is so good for your beneficial gut flora. Some of my family through the bag on top the fridge and wait till it’s bubbling! I can’t handle that but love 2-day old sour poi.
I remember the Honolulu Magazine sour poi awards! Not being Hawaiian, I didn’t notice the subtle shade thrown by the term. But I can definitely relate to being hapa (I’m half white and half Chinese), which helps us recognize the best food qualities of both cultures!
My cousin and I were just talking about this the other day. When we go to the mainland, we can mostly blend in because of our dads, who were white.
But we also know the authentic chinese food from the fake chinese food because of our moms! Lol