Ingredients
The yam
- a large yam
- Dioscorea species
- peeled and cut in pieces
- or a whole small one
To cook
- water, for boiling
- salt
- or an earth oven
- hot stones and leaves
To serve
- coconut cream
- or a little salt
- alongside pork or fish
- at a feast
The occasion
- carried on poles
- presented whole
- before it is cut
Directions
- Cook it thoroughly and it is fine. Peel them under running water if so. Hot stones heat a covered pit. Wash the whole yam thoroughly. Peel the yam with a sharp knife. Yam skin is thick and very rough.
- Cut it off with a knife instead. Cut deep enough to remove it fully. Wear gloves if your skin is sensitive.
- Cut the yam into large pieces. Cut them about five centimetres. Keep all the pieces roughly even. Cut yam browns quickly in the air.
- Put the pieces in water as you cut. Put the yam pieces in a large pot. Cover it well with cold water. Add a good pinch of salt to it.
- Start it in cold water rather than boiling. Cooking it takes about thirty minutes. Bring the whole pot right up to a boil. Let it simmer for about thirty minutes. Larger pieces take considerably longer.
- Cook it on if it still resists. Drain all of the yam thoroughly. Let it steam dry in the pot briefly. Set it back over a very low heat. Wrap the whole yam up in foil. Bake it at two hundred degrees. A large yam takes over an hour.
- Cut the cooked yam into pieces. Pour coconut cream over the top. Season it lightly with a little salt. It keeps two days refrigerated.
Technique
- Yam growing on Pohnpei carries real social weight: the largest yams bring status to the grower, they are presented at feasts, and titles and rank follow from that. Growers keep their best plots secret and the size hidden until presentation, and rivalry between them is genuine. Some yams weigh well over a hundred kilos and are carried on poles by several men — that is not an exaggeration. The atlas records this as a living institution rather than a curiosity, since the growing takes years of work.
- Yams must be cooked before eating, since some raw yams contain irritant compounds that cooking destroys entirely; they are never eaten raw. The cooked tuber is entirely safe. Some varieties also have a sticky sap that irritates sensitive skin when peeled, so wear gloves or peel under running water.
- Start the yam in cold water rather than dropping it into boiling, which cooks the outside first and leaves the middle hard. Cut it into large pieces of about five centimetres, since small ones fall apart, and drain it well, letting it steam dry in the pot for a drier floury result.
Substitutions
- Baking a whole wrapped yam at two hundred degrees for over an hour gives a drier sweeter result than boiling; test it with a skewer.
- The traditional feast method is an earth oven of hot stones with the food wrapped in leaves and buried for hours, which gives a smoky earthy flavour and cooks a great deal evenly at once.
Variations
- Yams are large starchy tubers of a different plant family from sweet potatoes, despite the common English confusion; cooked yam is dense, floury, drier than potato and mildly sweet.
- Coconut cream poured over adds richness to a dry tuber and is the standard Pacific pairing.
- Peel yams with a knife rather than a peeler, since the skin is thick and rough, and put the cut pieces in water as you go since cut yam browns in the air — harmlessly.
History
Prestige yams are grown in secret garden plots to enormous size and carried on poles by several men to feasts, where growers gain rank.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pohnpei Yam?
Pohnpei Yam is a salad & side from Micronesia: prestige yams grown enormous for feasts, carried on poles by several men. Prestige yams are grown in secret garden plots to enormous size and carried on poles by several men to feasts, where growers gain rank.
How long does Pohnpei Yam take to make?
Pohnpei Yam takes 30 minutes of preparation and 2 hours of cooking. The recipe makes serves many. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Pohnpei Yam?
Yes, within limits. Baking a whole wrapped yam at two hundred degrees for over an hour gives a drier sweeter result than boiling; test it with a skewer. The traditional feast method is an earth oven of hot stones with the food wrapped in leaves and buried for hours, which gives a smoky earthy flavour and cooks a great deal evenly at once.
What is the most important thing to get right in Pohnpei Yam?
Cook it thoroughly and it is fine. Peel them under running water if so. Hot stones heat a covered pit. Wash the whole yam thoroughly. Peel the yam with a sharp knife. Yam skin is thick and very rough.
