Although Kokoda is primarily an acid-cured seafood salad in coconut milk, it’s preservation technique can be adapted for use with other proteins including poultry. When fish is bathed in citrus juices, this process of denaturation turns the flesh firm and opaque, as if it had been cooked with heat. The preservation technique was used by...
Recipe Category: <span>Pacific Islander</span>
Plantains in Coconut Rum (Vudi Vakasoso)
South Pacific desserts are heavily influenced by the abundance of exotic tropical fruits and fresh coconut, plants spread thousands of years ago throughout the region by the first settlers, the Lapita people. One traditional Fijian dessert is called Vudi Vakasoso (“plantains cooked in coconut”). At its most simplest, plantains are often stuffed with freshly grated...
Cyclone Chicken & Ginger Broth
If there is one dietary lesson that I have learned in this region, is that foods should also be enjoyed for healing and repair, not just for sustenance and taste. The Pacific Islanders have had the Tree of Life coconut for eons, with all its anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, anti-aging and anti-bacterial richness to repair, heal and...
Fijian Lolo Buns
Lolo (Fijian for “coconut milk”) buns are synonymous across the Pacific Islands after the European introduction of baking ingredients in the late 19th century. These addictively sticky buns are baked in sweetened coconut milk and can be either steamed or baked.
Fijian Fish Kokoda
Kokoda (pronounced koh-kon-dah) is the South Pacific’s version of ceviche and is one of Fiji’s most recognized national dishes. Passed down through generations from the early Polynesian settlers, cubes of raw fish are cured in citrus juices overnight, and then combined with a salsa of fresh coconut, onions, tomato with a hint of chilli. Kokoda...