Ingredients
Fish
- 800 greef fish, in thick pieces
- juice of 2 limes
- 2 teaspoonssalt
- black pepper
Coconut cream
- 1mature coconut, grated
- or 500 ml thick tinned coconut cream
- warm water, for squeezing
The pot
- 2onions, sliced
- 4garlic cloves, crushed
- 2tomatoes, chopped
- 2chillies, chopped
- 3cm ginger, sliced, optional
- 4spring onions, sliced
To serve
- boiled cassava or dalo
- or plain rice
- rourou, taro leaves
- lime wedges
Directions
- Crack open a mature brown coconut. Drain the water out and keep it to drink. Grate all the white flesh finely. Put the grated flesh in a bowl. Add a little warm water to it.
- Squeeze it hard in your hands. The first squeeze gives thick cream. Add more water and squeeze again for milk. Use the first pressing for this dish. Coconut cream must never boil hard. Cut it into thick even pieces. Thick pieces hold together in the sauce.
- Rinse the fish pieces under cold water. Rub them with lime juice and salt. Let them sit for about fifteen minutes. Rinse the lime off before cooking. Season it again with salt and pepper.
- Put the sliced onions in a wide pan. Add about half the coconut cream. Add the crushed garlic and the ginger. Warm it gently over a low heat. Let the onion soften for about eight minutes. Never let it come to a rolling boil.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and the chillies. Let them break down for about five minutes. Add the rest of the coconut cream. Season it with salt and black pepper.
- Lay the fish pieces into the sauce. Do not stir the pan after this point. Cover it and simmer very gently. Give the fish about ten minutes. Taste it and adjust the salt to suit. Scatter the sliced spring onions over it.
- Let it stand covered for five minutes. Serving it is done piping hot. Lift the fish out carefully onto plates. Spoon the sauce generously over it. Serve boiled cassava or dalo alongside. It keeps two days refrigerated.
Technique
- Ika means fish and lolo means coconut cream, so vakalolo means done in coconut cream and describes the method rather than the dish; chicken, taro leaves and vegetables are all cooked vakalolo.
- iTaukei is the term for indigenous Fijians, and iTaukei cooking centres on coconut cream while Indo-Fijian cooking centres on curry spicing; both are Fijian and both are everyday food.
- Coconut cream must never boil hard, since that splits it into oil and solids and the sauce looks curdled and greasy; small bubbles should barely break the surface.
Substitutions
- Thick tinned coconut cream works, using the solid part from the top of the tin.
- Any firm fish stands in for reef fish and cooks the same way.
Variations
- Chicken cooked vakalolo uses exactly the same method.
- Some cooks add ginger and others leave it out.
- Rourou, taro leaves in coconut cream, is the usual green alongside.
History
Vakalolo means in coconut cream, the defining iTaukei cooking method, using cream squeezed from freshly grated mature coconut.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ika Vakalolo?
Ika Vakalolo is a main from Fiji: reef fish simmered in thick coconut cream with onion and chili. Vakalolo means in coconut cream, the defining iTaukei cooking method, using cream squeezed from freshly grated mature coconut.
How long does Ika Vakalolo take to make?
Ika Vakalolo takes 25 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Ika Vakalolo?
Yes, within limits. Thick tinned coconut cream works, using the solid part from the top of the tin. Any firm fish stands in for reef fish and cooks the same way.
What is the most important thing to get right in Ika Vakalolo?
Squeeze it hard in your hands. The first squeeze gives thick cream. Add more water and squeeze again for milk. Use the first pressing for this dish. Coconut cream must never boil hard. Cut it into thick even pieces. Thick pieces hold together in the sauce.
