Best RecipesA 'light lunch' and a basic village skill News Recipes

This was a simple to'ona'i (Sunday lunch) in Samoa, and looking back at it now, it was a relatively healthy one, especially as this food was meant for two people. From the top left clockwise is supo mamoe (lamb soup), oka (fish in coconut milk), curried chicken, selection of roast taro, ta'amu and ulu (breadfruit), a hidden package of luau and a plate of umu-cooked pork. 


And take a look at the serving 'platter' holding the various roots and luau. Do you think you can weave a serving mat like that? If you can, you can make mats for serving food, mats to sleep on, mats to keep the wind and rain out of your house, baskets for carrying things and even hats and fans. So add that to your list of basic survival skills - weaving.

Best RecipesCoconut Cookies News Recipes

I love masi Samoa. Who doesn't? But I was curious about cookies made with shredded coconut instead of coconut milk. Would the flavour be as good as masi Samoa? Would it be better?


To compare, I tried out two different kinds of cookies: coconut shortbread and chewy coconut cookies. 

I wasn't overly impressed with the shortbread. The coconut flavour was very understated and the shortbread was kind of blah. They even look kind of blah. 

But the chewy coconut cookies were sublime. The cookie was crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, and the coconut stood out in a nice way. 

At the end of the day, masi Samoa are still number one. But these cookies are a close number two. Try them and see!


Chewy Coconut Cookies
(makes 18)
¼ cup (60g) butter, softened
½ cup (100g) white sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup (125g) flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
½ cup (40g) coconut


Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder and salt, mixing well. Finally, stir in the coconut. Shape it into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for at least two hours or until firm.


Unwrap the cookie dough and slice into ¼ inch (5 mm) slices. Place 2 inches (5 cm) apart on lined baking sheets. Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 6 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

These will soften the day after, so store them in an airtight container, or save all the hassle and store them in your belly, like I did.

Best RecipesKeke fa'i - banana cake News Recipes

In my childhood home, our pots ranged from large to gigantic. We used massive rectangular roasting dishes and deep stock pots almost every day. Food was dished from giant serving plates and bowls using matching giant serving spoons and tongs. 


We had a wok that was so big it couldn't be lifted with one hand, and a ginormous teapot bigger than the size of my head. That Jurassic teapot was always filled with tea or coffee or koko, the spout plugged with a makeshift newspaper 'cork' to keep the flies out. 


What I remember of our kitchen was that everything was either big, bigger or biggest. The chopping boards, the knives, the juice pitchers, the wooden spoons - all HUGE.


No, we didn't run a catering business. 
We were just your average Samoan family. 

So my mother would make this cake in a baking pan that I think only professional wedding cake makers use. That pan I remember was about 16 inches (40 cm) in diameter, and despite its size the cakes always came out perfectly, without sticking. When she turned her cakes out onto the cooling rack, they would land with a puff of steam, smooth dark brown edges and an irresistible baked banana smell. 


In my current kitchen, I don't have anything as big as my mother's banana cake pan, so the recipe has been dramatically scaled back. But not the flavour. In this cake, banana is the star.

Keke fa'i (serves 6-8)
makes 8" (20 cm) round cake


1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick + 1 tablespoon (125g) butter, softened 

¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 medium overripe bananas)
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup hot milk

Grease and/or line your cake pan and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). 


Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
With electric beaters, cream the butter with the sugar until it's light and fluffy. Beat in one egg at a time, then the vanilla, beating well after each addition.


Switch from the beaters to a wooden spoon or spatula. Stir the mashed banana into the butter mixture. 
Dissolve the baking soda into the milk and stir that in too.
Finally, sift your sifted ingredients into the mixture and gently fold them in. 


As soon as all the ingredients are moistened, pour the batter evenly into the cake pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Cool completely and then fill and top with sweetened whipped cream or chocolate frosting.

Best RecipesEsi Fafao - Stuffed Papayas News Recipes

To be honest, this recipe almost didn't make it to the blog. After hollowing out the papaya, I thought, "Stuff the blog. I'm just going to eat this papaya right here, right now." But thanks to my incredible powers of self-control, I managed to get these into the oven and even hold off eating them until I had taken the photos. 

Which is a lie. 
I ate one papaya, and stuffed the other.
Pfft! You wouldn't have known.


Now, you can make this with green papaya, but I like the taste of almost ripe papaya better. It adds a sweetness to the dish, much like pumpkin or carrots. 


Serve this hot out of the oven with rice and a salad. 


Esi Fafao (serves 4)
2 papaya
1 small onion
1 red pepper
4 cloves garlic
½ cup fresh parsley
½ cup fresh basil
1 tablespoon oil
½ pound (250 grams) ground beef
1 cup grated cheese 
¼ cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
2 tomatoes
salt and pepper
extra grated cheese for topping (optional)


Preheat the oven to 350°F(180°C).


Halve the papayas. Spoon out the seeds and discard. Scoop out some papaya flesh and put that aside (it will be added to the meat mixture). Be sure to leave enough flesh all around the inside of the skin to hold the filling. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet (use foil wedges to keep them from rolling around, if necessary).


Dice the onion and pepper. Finely chop the garlic, and roughly chop the parsley and basil. 


Heat the oil in a frypan and brown the beef. Drain off the fat, then return to the heat, adding the onions, peppers and garlic. Cook until fragrant then turn the heat off. Cool slightly, then throw in the rest of the ingredients, including the reserved papaya flesh. Season the mixture to taste. 


Divide evenly between the papaya shells, top with a little more grated cheese if desired, and bake for 50-60 minutes. 

Best RecipesPapaya, Pawpaw - Esi News Recipes

The papaya can be used both raw and ripe. When it's raw, use it like a vegetable in pickles, salads and savoury dishes. When it's cooked it tastes a lot like squash. Green papaya is also a wonderful meat tenderiser so use it to soften up steaks for the grill, but reserve the tenderising marinade and cook that up too, because it will be extra flavourful from the meat. 


If you have ripe papayas, the subtle sweetness of the fruit is perfect for desserts and drinks, or eat them as nature intended, au naturel (the fruit, not you!).  


And here are two interesting facts that only the real kuabacks know: If you get bitten by a mosquito - high chance of that in Samoa - then use the white sap of the raw papaya (white stuff just under the skin) to reduce the itch. To stop getting bitten in the first place, just burn some papaya leaves - mosquitos hate the smell.


Happy cooking everyone!

Best RecipesChef Sam Choy - Hawaii's Celebrity Chef News Recipes

This is the first of what I hope will become a regular feature here at SamoaFood.com - interviews with island chefs and/or those who work daily with island food. I know that most of us are home cooks, but it doesn't hurt to hear how the pros do it, right?

Chef Choy grilling ahi

To kick things off, it's an honour to present my recent interview with Chef Sam Choy.


Chef Choy is a James Beard award winner (the restaurant version of the Oscars), a prolific cookbook writer, and a champion for Hawaiian Heritage Cooking. (Heritage cooking is cooking traditional foods, those that evoke memories of special people and special times. It is 'remembering through food'. Sounds a lot like what we are doing here at SamoaFood.com, nay?). 


Chef Choy has competed on Iron Chef America, and appeared in Ready..Set..Cook! and his own cooking show 'Sam Choy's Kitchen'. He creates menus for American Airlines and even has his own signature food and coffee range.


Actually, Chef Choy doesn't know it, but he was one of the original inspirations for my food blog through his book Sam Choy's Polynesian Kitchen, without which I would not be writing recipes for you guys today. So it's fitting that he is our first ever chef guest here at SamoaFood.com.


Chef Choy, thanks for being so generous with your time.

You've been doing true Hawaiian Heritage Cooking for some decades now. What trends have you seen over the years? What would you like to see in the future?

The trends that I have seen over the years went from traditional, Nouvelle, Fusion cooking, Heritage even fast food. In the future, I would like to see more sustainable cooking.

What was your vision for the cuisine at your restaurant Kai Lanai?

My vision for the cuisine at my Kai Lanai restaurant is sustainable cooking with local Island Heritage; just a combination that would entice anyone’s palate.

I was salivating just reading over the menu. What dishes do you highly recommend for first time visitors?

I would suggest the Noodlemania made with fresh vegetables and chicken or beef along with chowmein noodles, or any of our fresh island fish cooked to your preference, or our salads.

Can you give us your impression of Samoa and Samoan food?

Samoa is the land of the “happy people” and the food is very unique and good. Being born and raised in Laie, we always ate Samoan food; puligi, fa'ausi, sapasui, etc.

What ingredient(s) could you not live without?

I think I could not live without mayonnaise because you can do a lot of different things with it.

What's your favourite local/regional dish?

My favorite local dish would be poke.

Do you have one piece of advice for my readers who want to make great-tasting island food at home?

Always start with fresh ingredients and don’t be afraid to do different things with your cooking.


Many thanks to Chef Choy and his wife Carol for sharing their thoughts.


If you're in Hawai'i, please check out Sam Choy's Kai Lanai and grab some Noodlemania. And if you would like to try out some of Sam's flavoursome recipes at home, pick up one of his cookbooks from Amazon.




[Are there any chefs/cooks you would like to see featured here? Make your suggestions and I'll see what I can do.]

Best RecipesKoko Samoa Suppliers News Recipes

Since this site has been up, I've had a lot of enquiries for koko samoa suppliers. I know of three excellent sources that ship overseas and I'm going to tell you about two of them. (The third source is my sister D, and somehow I don't think she'd appreciate you guys emailing her for koko).


The first source is an internet vendor called ParadiseGypsy (catchy name right?). She sells Samoan goods such as crafts and jewellery, as well as our beloved koko samoa. The great thing about her koko is that it arrives at her place warm and unset - in other words, it is super fresh. She actually has to wait for it to harden before she can ship it off to you. This freshness is probably why she sends volumes of koko to the States and Australia. 


Of course, she also does smaller individual orders. She tells me that she can provide other local foodstuffs that are not on her website and has even, on occasion, shipped Vailima! I have ordered koko from her in the past and found both the price of her koko and the sending costs to be very reasonable (she ships via American Samoa). Check out her website and send her an email if you are interested in ordering. 

The second source for koko samoa is Wilex Samoa, who export a range of cocoa, coconut and chocolate products. Since 1996, this company has been doing amazing things with koko samoa, such as creating boutique chocolates with coconut, nonu and other tropical fruits dipped in French cognac. All their products are GM free (not genetically modified) and arrive packed in retail bags. Visit their website, or email Eddie Wilson, who is the Managing Director, for more details on their products and shipping.  


Now all you koko-heads out there, you have no reason to be using powdered cocoa for your next koko alaisa. Buy the real thing and support some local Samoan businesses. Yay!