Kokoda

Raw fish ‘cooked’ in lime juice, then mixed with coconut cream, chilli, onion, tomato and pepper.

Eaten in: Fiji

Prep: 20 min
Cooking: 0 min
Resting: 2 h
Total: 2 h 20 min
Servings: 4

About the dish

Kokoda is Fiji’s raw fish dish, similar to ceviche but milder and creamy with coconut. Cubes of firm white fish, often walu (Spanish mackerel), are marinated in lime or lemon juice until they turn opaque, then mixed with fresh coconut cream, finely chopped onion, tomato, pepper and hot chilli. It is served chilled, sometimes in a coconut half or a shell, as a starter, a light lunch or part of a larger feast, with boiled taro or cassava. Similar dishes are found across Polynesia, such as oka in Samoa and ʻota ʻika in Tonga.

Main ingredients

white fish
lime
coconut cream
chilli
onion
tomato
pepper

Recipe

Kokoda

https://foodmap.ominuvo.com/dish/kokoda

Ingredients

4 servings

500 g very fresh firm white fish fillets (Spanish mackerel, mahi-mahi, cod), skinned
150 ml lime or lemon juice
1 tsp salt
200 ml thick coconut cream
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, deseeded and diced
1/2 green or red pepper, diced
1–2 chillies, finely chopped
a handful of coriander or spring onion, chopped

Method

Cut the fish into 1.5 cm cubes and put it in a glass or ceramic bowl.
Pour over enough lime juice to cover, add the salt, stir and refrigerate for 2 hours, stirring now and then.
When the fish is white and opaque all the way through, pour off most of the juice.
Stir in the coconut cream, onion, tomatoes, pepper and chilli.
Season with salt, scatter with coriander or spring onion and serve well chilled.