Bula!
I’ve been in Fiji living for nearly a month now and have been meaning to write my first post! It’s taken a cool and cloudy day for me to start and yes, surprisingly Fiji can be a little fresh at times, not just the food! There has been a welcomed arrival of cooler weather and rain since it has reached drought status for 4+ months.
We all know when the topic gets onto weather, the conversation is taking a downward turn, so I’ll change the subject fast kind (islander slang for quickly)!
Since it’s a fresh kind of day, I’ll talk about the food Fijian traditional cuisine! Kokoda (pronounced: Kokonda) is a dish where the fish is marinated in lemon & vinegar for a few hours. Then coriander, chili, coconut milk, tomato and cucumber is added to the fish. It is also served with casava, which is a root crop similar to a potato. As you can probably imagine, coconuts are used in basically every meal here. When I moved into my apartment (semi furnished) there was a wooden board with a metal fork-like scraper which I had no idea what its use was, until I had Kokoda cooked for me by a local Chef.
Kokoda is an important dish which is served at special occasions, such as weddings. Strongest flavours being coconut and lemon, giving the fresh cool feeling and then a kick of chili, just fabulous. The fish is cut up into little cubes and the texture is soft. Perfect for those with sensitive teeth, false teeth or no teeth at all haha! One of my best friends back at home missed the “teenage braises boat”, so she’s in her 20’s suffering and watching what she eats in fear of her braises breaking, Kokoda would be perfect for her and anyone else in this condition! hehe
I hope you enjoy the pics & post! 🙂
Vinaka vakalevu, (thank you very much)
Loloma levu (much love)
Fijian name Sakalo
Root crop similar to a potato
Coconut scraping in action
My turn, it’s harder than it looks 😛
Once all the milk is squeezed out, you throw away the coconut shavings.
The traditional Fijian dish Kokoda with Casava
Alice Sophiarcely Travels 