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Saturday, February 25, 2012

What to do with Frozen Poi?

If you live on the mainland and have a craving for poi, good luck!
Nah only joking.

You can buy frozen poi at several Asian grocers, but fresh is hard to come by. When my in-laws come to visit they always bring me a couple dozen lau laus from Young's Fish Market (my absolute favorite, broke da mouth) and a couple big bags of fresh poi.  I crave this stuff in a bad way.  Honestly, I'm usually a pretty good at sharing, but when it comes to my poi and lau laus.  I have to admit... I'm kinda stingy.

When I first moved to the mainland back in 1994 and saw frozen poi at the Asian grocery store I got all excited, until I realized I had no idea what to do with it. Luckily my mother-in-law had the inside scoops.  18 years later, I'm a pro at making fresh "Onolicious" poi, straight from my freezer.

I usually only make one or two servings at a time.  If you make more just start with 2 minutes in the microwave and continue with 1 minute intervals until the poi is smooth.

So here is a crash course on what to do with frozen poi...
I divide the poi into individual servings (about the size of a fist, I have very big fist) and put them in zip lock sandwich bags and put them in my freezer.

When I'm ready to eat it, I pull a bag out of the freezer and place the chunk in a glass microwave safe bowl, cover it with plastic and microwave for about 2 min.  ( I have a very powerful microwave 1100 watts) it may take longer in a lower wattage microwave.
It will look kind of ugly and lumpy, but will smooth out nicely when you mix it.
Start stirring to remove the lumps.  Microwave in one minute intervals stirring in between, until you have a smooth consistency.
When the poi is smooth, add ice and stir to mix.  This will thin out the poi and cool it at the same time.
Add more ice until you get your desired consistency.
Cover with plastic wrap and hold in the fridge until you're ready to eat.

15 comments:

  1. AngelJuly 23, 2012 at 3:52 PM

    Thank you for the info.
    I was going to pick up some from a Local who lives here in Reno,NV.

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    Replies
    1. Cook with SusanJuly 23, 2012 at 5:12 PM

      That's great Angel! Maybe your Hawaii connection can slip in a lau lau too :)

      Delete
  2. AnonymousJuly 31, 2013 at 3:02 AM

    so i mixed the water in the bag and refroze it and now when i microwaved it the whole bag is lumpy and isnt getting smooth any advice?

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    Replies
    1. Cook with SusanAugust 1, 2013 at 6:47 AM

      Sorry to hear about your lumpy poi :(
      The next time you freeze your poi, don't add water to the bag. Instead add the water a little at a time as you microwave it. However, with that said... The poi still should have smoothed out.
      I think all your poi needed was a few more 1 min. visits to the microwave with a good amount of stirring in between.

      Delete
  3. UnknownMay 4, 2014 at 5:01 PM

    AWESOME! Thank you for the tip! Was over here getting frustrated... the poi I got was soooo lumpy... now matter how much I lomi'd it.... was about to give up when I got online and found this... wooohoo... now can have Laulau, poi, palusami, and green banana with coconut mile and onions... mmmm

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cook with SusanMay 5, 2014 at 8:03 AM

      Hi Gina, I'm so happy to hear that your poi turned out and the feast that you have to go along with it sounds ONOLICIOUS!!!

      Delete
  4. ChuckBradenJune 3, 2014 at 10:58 AM

    I used an immersion blender and got rid of all the lumps......really quickly!

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    Replies
    1. Cook with SusanJune 5, 2014 at 9:29 AM

      Hi Chuck, great idea! Thanks for sharing.

      Delete
    2. Cook with SusanJune 5, 2014 at 9:32 AM

      I just made poi yesterday and wanted to share that if your poi is still lumpy - just give it more time in the microwave and it will smooth out all by itself. Trust me, I ate two batches with lomi lomi salmon :)
      Aloha, Susan

      Delete
  5. AnonymousOctober 4, 2014 at 6:32 PM

    Susan,

    After thawing out the frozen poi, I did not know what to do. Glad to come across your advice. Much thanks, it worked! And you're right, a little more time in the microwave made for smooth poi.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousApril 28, 2015 at 5:53 PM

    You just saved my dinner!!!! I bought a bag of frozen poi from an Asian store to eat with Poke and when I took it out of the bag it was the strangest consistency. I thought I was going to have to miss out on poke and take it back to the store (which is pretty far away.) This totally saved the consistency. It's a little poi miracle!! Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cook with SusanApril 29, 2015 at 6:35 AM

    Poke and Poi is so ONOlicious!!! I wish I had some right now :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. DeirdreJuly 22, 2021 at 4:38 PM

    I have frozen poi that I thawed in the fridge and have no microwave. Do you think it would work storing and heating on the stove?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cook with SusanJuly 22, 2021 at 8:03 PM

      Hi Deirdre,
      I would suggest placing it over a double boiler and adding water a little at a time while stirring to smooth it out to your desired thickness. The other suggestion is to add about 1/4 cup of water (depending on how much poi you have) to a sauce pan and heating over low heat stirring and adding water a little at a time till to get the lumps out. Once you get the lumps out with either method, add ice to cool poi and get desired consistency. I hope that helps :)

      Delete

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