What Is Poi? A Complete Guide to Hawaii's Original Superfood

Poi is what you get when you take cooked taro root, mash it with water, and leave it to ferment for one to three days. The result is a smooth, lavender- gray paste with the texture of yogurt and the flavor of slightly sour mashed potato.

To pre-contact Hawaiians, poi was dinner. Every meal centered on a bowl of it. Everything else — fish, kalua pork, lomi salmon, greens — was a side dish to be eaten with poi.

How it's made

1. Cooked taro root is peeled.
2. The flesh is pounded or mashed with water until it forms a smooth paste.
3. It's left in a covered container at room temperature for 12–72 hours.
4. Wild lactic-acid bacteria — the same family that ferments yogurt, kimchi, and sourdough starter — go to work.

Fresh poi (1 day) is sweet. Two-day poi is tangy, like yogurt. Three-day poi is sharp, almost vinegary — an acquired taste even in Hawaii.

What it tastes like

Mild, slightly sweet, a little earthy when fresh. As it ferments it gets tangier and the flavor opens up.

A key point: poi is a vehicle, not a destination. You eat it with salted fish, slow-cooked pork, raw poke, or coconut-braised greens. The flavor of the dish goes on top.

Why it might be the most useful thing in your fridge

Poi gives you three things at once that almost no other food gives you together:

1. Slow carbohydrate. Taro is low glycemic, mineral-rich, and gentle on digestion.
2. Live probiotics. Naturally fermented, no manufactured strains added.
3. Hypoallergenic. Poi is one of the few starchy foods recommended for infants with food allergies. Hawaiian babies have eaten it as a first solid for centuries.

Where to get it

If you live in Hawaii, the West Coast, or near a Hawaiian community, you can often find frozen poi at Asian and Pacific grocers. Brands like Hanalei Poi Co. and Taro Brand ship nationally to the US.

If you can't find it ready-made, you can make passable poi from unsweetened taro powder, but the fermented flavor is hard to replicate without time.

How to eat it

The traditional Hawaiian way: a bowl of poi, a bowl of kalua pig or salted fish, and a side of greens. You scoop poi with two fingers (one-finger poi is thicker; three-finger poi is thinner), bring it to your mouth alongside a bite of the meat or fish, and let them meet.

It is, for what it's worth, one of the most satisfying ways to eat a meal that this writer has encountered. Try it.

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