Miti

Ingredients

Coconut cream

• 1mature coconut, or 300 ml thick coconut cream
• 100 mlwarm water, if extracting by hand

To flavour

• juice of 2 lemons or limes
• 1small onion, very finely chopped
• 1or 2 hot chillies, finely chopped
• 1/2 tspsalt

Sometimes added

• 2spring onions, sliced
• 1tomato, finely diced
• a little grated ginger

To serve

• grilled or raw fish
• boiled taro or cassava
• cooked greens

Directions

1. Hold the drained nut in one hand over a bowl. Turn it as you tap so a crack travels all the way round. In Fiji this is done on a stool with a serrated blade attached. Put the grated coconut in a bowl.
2. Add a small amount of warm water, no more than a hundred millilitres. Using too much water gives thin coconut milk rather than cream.
3. Work the grated flesh between your hands for several minutes. Squeeze it hard so the cream runs out. Strain it through a cloth, twisting hard to get everything. This first pressing is the thick cream you want.
4. Pour the coconut cream into a bowl. Add the very finely chopped onion. Chop the onion as finely as you can, since large pieces dominate. Add the finely chopped chilli. Squeeze the lemon or lime juice in gradually.
5. Stir it as you go and taste as you add. Too much acid will cause the cream to thicken and curdle. Season it with salt and stir it through.
6. Stir in the spring onion, diced tomato or ginger if you want them. Resting it briefly helps the flavours meet. Let it stand for twenty minutes at room temperature. Do not make it hours ahead, since fresh coconut cream sours quickly.
7. Keep it cool but do not refrigerate it hard, since the cream sets solid. Serving it is done as a sauce rather than a dip. Spoon it generously over grilled fish. Pour it over boiled taro or cassava so it soaks in. Spoon it over cooked greens such as rourou. Make it the same day, since it does not keep.

Technique

• Use as little water as possible when squeezing, or you get thin milk rather than cream.
• Add the citrus gradually, since too much acid curdles the coconut cream.
• Make it the same day, as fresh coconut cream sours quickly.

Substitutions

• Tinned coconut cream, though it tastes noticeably flatter.
• Lime in place of lemon, or a mix of both.

Variations

• With diced tomato and spring onion through it.
• Poured over raw fish as the base of kokoda.
• Made hotter, with more chilli.

History

A pan-Pacific dressing: fresh coconut cream is squeezed by hand and cut with citrus, serving Fiji as both sauce and marinade.

Frequently asked questions

What is Miti?

Miti is a sauce & condiment from Fiji: coconut cream sharpened with lemon, chili and onion, spooned over fish and taro. A pan-Pacific dressing: fresh coconut cream is squeezed by hand and cut with citrus, serving Fiji as both sauce and marinade.

How long does Miti take to make?

Miti takes 20 min of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes 1 bowl. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Miti?

Yes, within limits. Tinned coconut cream, though it tastes noticeably flatter. Lime in place of lemon, or a mix of both.

What is the most important thing to get right in Miti?

Add a small amount of warm water, no more than a hundred millilitres. Using too much water gives thin coconut milk rather than cream.