Oka i'a is the name given to the Samoan form of ceviche, or fish salad, which typically consists of fresh tuna marinated in lemon juice and coconut cream and served in chunks with onions. The combination of these items produces a very healthy and tasty dish. This salad is likely to have a family recipe, although some individuals like to add chopped chile peppers, coriander, parsley, and even lemon slices to it. You may use whatever ingredients you choose, but the combination of fresh fish, coconut, and citrus is a must-try dish.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Tuna (You can use any fresh fish you like just make sure it is really fresh), 1/2 cup lemon or lime juice fresh squeezed, 1/4 onion diced, 2 green onions, 2 small tomatoes diced, 1 cucumber peeled, seeded and diced, 1 cup Coconut milk, 1 serrano minced (optional), salt to taste

Instruction:

1. Cut up your fish into bite-size pieces
2. Put in a bowl and cover with the fresh-squeezed citrus juice
3. Marinate for about 10 minutes or until you finish cutting up the other vegetables. The citrus cooks the diced fish quickly.
4. Dice up the vegetables into similar bite-size pieces
5. Drain the citrus from the fish and add the vegetables
6. Add in the coconut milk
7. Add salt to taste
8. Refrigerate for about an hour to let all the flavours meld together and serve.

Palusami is a Polynesian delicacy that involves wrapping a beef, onion, and coconut combination in leaves and baking it. In the Polynesian islands, especially Samoa, Kiribati, and Fiji, it is considered a staple. Palusami is a favourite dish at parties and feasts since it is so simple to make. Palusami is a traditional Polynesian dish that comes in a variety of flavours based on the ingredients used. Taro leaves and coconut milk are the major components of this cuisine. In Samoan culture, both of these ingredients are extremely important.

Ingredients:

20 oz coconut cream, 14 taro or banana leaves, 12 oz corned beef, 1 white onion diced, 2 garlic cloves minced, salt to taste, pepper to taste

Instruction:

1. Finely chop the onion, mince the garlic and place them into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add corned beef, salt and pepper to taste and mix thoroughly.
3. Take a big sheet of aluminium foil, place two leaves on top of the other on the foil and scoop a large dollop of the mixture in the centre.
4. Add 3 tablespoons of coconut cream on top of the mixture and around the centre of the leaf.
5. Now fold up the first leaf, add another 2 tablespoons of coconut milk and wrap the second leaf. Wrap it all up in the aluminium foil and repeat until you have none of your mixture left.
6. Cook in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes.
7. Unwrap the package from the foil, open the leaves and enjoy!

Pani Popo, or coconut buns, are prepared with yeast bread and sweetened coconut milk and are native to Samoa. Many people compare it to glazed doughnuts, and with a few simple changes, such as replacing the butter with grapeseed or coconut oil, you can produce a wonderful dairy-free treat, while adding coconut flour makes it gluten-free. No matter what dietary constraints you have, this dish is incredibly easy to adapt.

Ingredients:

1 (12 ounces) package of frozen dinner rolls dough, thawed; 15 ounces water, divided; 1 (14 ounces) can of coconut milk; 1 cup sugar; 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Instruction:

1. Arrange rolls in a 9x13-inch baking dish, cover the dish with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
2. Combine 14 ounces of water, coconut milk, and sugar in a saucepan. Whisk the remaining water and cornstarch together in a small bowl. Bring coconut milk mixture to a boil, whisk in cornstarch mixture, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove plastic wrap from rolls.
4. Bake rolls in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Pour coconut sauce over rolls until at least half of each roll is covered in sauce. Return rolls to oven; continue baking until rolls are golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes more. Cool in the baking dish, for 3 to 5 minutes, before serving warm.

The Sapasui (or Sapa Sui) cuisine is popular in Samoa. It's a variant of the famous Chinese Chop Suey dish, and there are numerous methods to prepare it. This is one of the most traditional Samoan recipes, originating on the gorgeous Oceanic island. Although Samoan cuisine isn't well-known around the world, you could find that this dish piques your interest in learning more about the Pacific. In Samoan Sapasui, chicken, beef, or pork are commonly used, however, you can use any or none of these meats in this recipe.

Ingredients:

250 g Vermicelli noodles, 300 g Chicken meat, 2 tbsp Peanut oil, 1 Large onion, 1 cup Soy sauce, 2 Carrots, 1 tbsp grated ginger, 1 cup Water, 1 Chicken stock cube, Pepper to taste

Instruction:

1. Heat your peanut oil in a pan and on medium heat add crushed garlic, chopped onion and ginger.
2. Once the garlic starts to slightly brown, add your meat and carrots cut into matchsticks, and leave to cook.
3. In a separate pot cook your vermicelli noodles according to the instructions on the pack.
4. To the meat add your soy sauce, a cup of noodle water and your stock cube, and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Once your noodles are cooked, snip them to around 5cm long and stir them into the mix.
6. If needed, add more soy sauce and water in small doses to get your required consistency.
7. Add pepper to taste and serve.

The Poi served at a Hawaiian luau is not the same as the poi served in Samoa. The base of this Samoan Poi is ripe bananas that have been mashed and combined with coconut cream or milk. With a little sugar and vanilla, you've got a cool dessert to enjoy on a hot day. Many South Pacific islands have adopted the Samoan Poi recipe. Bananas and coconuts are, after all, essential foods on all of those islands. This is a classic and delicious dessert.

Ingredients:

4 bananas, 1/2 cup coconut cream or milk, 2 teaspoons sugar or more or less to taste, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 lemon or lime

Instruction:

1. Peel the ripe bananas and then mash them with a fork in a bowl.

2. Add in the rest of the ingredients. If you would like it creamier you can put it in a blender as well.
3. Serve immediately

Despite their dull and tasteless appearance, Masi Samoa, or Samoan coconut biscuits, are packed with flavour, particularly butter and coconut. Eggs, coconut milk, flour, baking powder, butter, vanilla essence, and sugar are used to make these flaky shortbread biscuits. They should be let cool after being removed from the oven, and then eaten plain or with butter and fruit jams. Masi is best served with a nice cup of Samoan cocoa on the side.

Ingredients:

120gm butter (4½ oz), 2/3 cup white sugar, 2 eggs, 200ml full coconut milk (7 fl oz), 1 tsp vanilla essence or extract, 4 cups flour, 3 tsp baking powder, a pinch of salt

Instruction:

1. Heat the over up to about 180˚C (350˚F)
2. Cream the butter and sugar together well.
3. Add the eggs one at a time mixing well.
4. Here comes the magic, add the coconut milk and vanilla, again mixing well.
5. Now mix in the dry ingredients (flour and baking powder).
6. The dough may still be a little sticky, so a little more flour may be needed.
7. Cover your kneading surface with a generous amount of flour so the dough doesn’t stick in and knead until it’s a nice and even consistency.

8. Pinch about a third of the dough and roll out onto lightly floured baking paper.
9. Roll out the dough until it’s about ¼” (6mm) thick, and cut into 3″ (75mm) squares. I find dipping the knife in flour every so often helps to keep it from sticking to the dough.
10. Then just pick up your baking paper at the edges and place it onto your over tray and cook for about 25 minutes, or till just golden brown (a little browner than they appear in the photo above) The squares when cooled should be quite hard, not soft like biscuits, and have a nice “snap” when broken.

Panikeke is a Samoan pancake with a spherical form that resembles small golden balls. Flour, sugar, salt, eggs, milk, and baking powder are the main ingredients. Pancakes are traditionally served with fruit, jams, or whipped cream for breakfast. Panikeke is available in two flavors: plain and flavored with mashed bananas mixed into the dough before cooking.

Ingredients:

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour; 1 ⅓ cups white sugar; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 2 very ripe bananas, mashed; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 1 ½ cups water; 6 cups vegetable oil for frying

Instruction:

1. Combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl until thoroughly mixed, and stir in the bananas, vanilla extract, and water to make a smooth, sticky dough.
2. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). The oil should be deep enough to completely cover the panikekes while frying, or at last 3 inches deep.
3. Scoop up a scant 1/4 cup of batter with a large spoon, and use another spoon to push it off into the oil. Fry in small batches of 4 or 5 until they float to the top and turn golden brown, about 3 minutes, then flip them to fry the other side. Remove from the fryer and let drain on paper towels.

Kale moa is a Samoan meal with a flavour profile that is balanced between spicy, salty, and sweet. Chicken chunks, coconut milk, flour, water, oil, spices including curry powder, ginger, garlic, and onions, as well as veggies like potatoes, carrots, and celery, are used to make this light chicken curry. It's best to serve the curry with fluffy white rice once it's reached the correct thickness.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped; 4 cloves garlic, minced; a 1-inch piece of ginger, pounded and minced (if you don't have fresh ginger, about 1 tsp of ginger paste will work just fine); 1/4 c vegetable oil; 2 Tbsp curry powder; 1 1/2 lb bone-in chicken pieces (wings and thighs, preferably); 2 c plus 6 tbsp water; 2 c coconut milk; 4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into larger pieces; 1-2 large carrots, peeled and chopped into large pieces; 1-2 stalk(s) celery, chopped into large pieces; 6 Tbsp flour

Instruction:

1. In a large pot, preferably a stockpot, over medium heat, add your oil and onion. Saute the onion until it is almost translucent.
2. Add in the garlic, ginger, and curry powder. Saute everything in the pot until these become aromatic.
3. Add in chicken pieces, 2 cups of water, and 2 cups of coconut milk. (If you're using canned coconut milk, be sure to also use the thick cream on top for a nice, rich, and thick sauce for your kale.) Bring the pot to a boil, then turn heat down to low simmer, and cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
4. Add in vegetables, stir. Bring the kale up to a boil once more, then back down to a low simmer, covered. Simmer for about another 20 or so minutes until carrots or potatoes are fork-tender but not falling apart.
5. Mix together the remaining 6 Tbsp of water with 6 Tbsp of flour to make a quick slurry. (At the point, if you think it could use more heat, feel free to add more curry powder.) Add this to the pot, turning the heat back up to medium, and stirring until thickened. Season well with salt and pepper. Serve with rice.