Nama

Ingredients

Sea grapes

• 300 gfresh nama, sea grapes

To dress

• 200 mlfresh coconut cream
• juice of 2 lemons or limes
• 1small onion, very finely chopped
• 1chilli, finely chopped
• 1/2 tspsalt

Sometimes added

• 1tomato, finely diced
• 2spring onions, sliced

To serve

• as a side dish with fish
• with taro or cassava

Note

• never rinse them in fresh water

Directions

1. Rinse them in seawater, or in heavily salted water instead. Never refrigerate sea grapes at all.
2. Keep them at room temperature in a little seawater. Cover them loosely rather than sealing them. Use them within a day or two at most. Cleaning them takes a little sorting.
3. Lift them out of the seawater into a colander. Pick out any bits of coral, shell or other seaweed. Pull off any stems that have gone brown or slimy. Trim away the coarse holdfast at the base if it is still attached.
4. Rinse them once more in clean seawater. Reducing the saltiness is done carefully if needed. Lift them out and drain them well. Grate the flesh of a mature coconut. Add a very small amount of warm water.
5. Squeeze it hard through a cloth. That first pressing is the thick cream you want. Put the coconut cream in a bowl. Add the very finely chopped onion and chilli. Add the citrus juice gradually while stirring. Too much acid at once will curdle the coconut cream.
6. Season it with salt, tasting as you go. Combining them is done at the very last moment. Put the drained nama in a serving bowl. Pour the dressing over the seaweed.
7. Turn it very gently with your hands or a spoon. Do not stir hard, since the beads burst easily. Serve it as soon as it is dressed. Within twenty minutes it will have gone limp.

Technique

• Never rinse sea grapes in fresh water, since the beads swell and burst within minutes.
• Never refrigerate them, as cold makes the beads shrink and go dull.
• Dress them at the very last moment, since salt and acid collapse them within twenty minutes.

Substitutions

• Heavily salted water in place of seawater for rinsing.
• Tinned coconut cream, though it tastes flatter than fresh.

Variations

• With diced tomato and spring onion through it.
• Served plain with just lemon and salt.
• Eaten as part of a larger seafood plate.

History

Sea grapes are gathered from shallow lagoons and eaten within a day or two, since the delicate beads collapse quickly out of seawater.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nama?

Nama is a salad & side from Fiji: fresh sea grapes seaweed served with coconut and lemon. Sea grapes are gathered from shallow lagoons and eaten within a day or two, since the delicate beads collapse quickly out of seawater.

How long does Nama take to make?

Nama takes 15 min of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Nama?

Yes, within limits. Heavily salted water in place of seawater for rinsing. Tinned coconut cream, though it tastes flatter than fresh.

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

Rinse them in seawater, or in heavily salted water instead. Never refrigerate sea grapes at all.