Oka i’a

Ingredients

Fish

• 600 gsashimi-grade yellowfin tuna or mahi-mahi, skinned, bloodline removed, cut into 2 cm cubes
• 150 mlfresh lemon or lime juice, from about 5 fruit
• 1 tspfine sea salt

Dressing

• 300 mlthick coconut cream, ideally pressed from 1 fresh grated mature coconut
• 1small red onion (100 g), sliced paper thin
• 1cucumber (200 g), peeled, deseeded and diced
• 2tomatoes (200 g), deseeded and diced
• 2spring onions, sliced
• 1–2red chillies, finely chopped, seeds in
• ½ tspcoarse sea salt
• Black pepper

To serve

• Taro or breadfruit chips, or a scoop of hot boiled taro
• Lime wedges

Directions

1. Buy the fish from a fishmonger you trust and keep it iced until the moment you cut it. Oka i’a is raw fish and the only real quality control is freshness; the flesh should smell of the sea and nothing else.
2. Cut the tuna into even 2 cm cubes with a sharp knife, wiping the blade between cuts. Uneven pieces cure at different rates.
3. Toss the cubes with the fine salt and the citrus juice in a non-metallic bowl and refrigerate 15–20 minutes, no longer. Stir once halfway.
4. Watch the fish rather than the clock: it is ready when the outer 2 mm has turned opaque and firm while the centre is still deep red and translucent. Cured all the way through means chalky, ruined oka.
5. Meanwhile make the coconut cream if you can. Grate the flesh of a mature coconut, add 100 ml of warm water, and squeeze it hard through muslin. The first press is the thick cream you want.
6. Drain the fish in a sieve and discard most of the citrus juice, keeping about 2 tbsp. Too much acid left in will split the coconut cream and turn the dish sour and thin.
7. Fold the fish gently with the coconut cream, onion, cucumber, tomato, spring onion, chilli, coarse salt and pepper. Use a spoon and few strokes; the cubes should stay intact.
8. Taste and adjust with salt and a squeeze of lime. Serve within 30 minutes, cold, with taro chips or hot boiled taro, which is the classic contrast of cold raw fish against hot starch.

Technique

• The coconut cream must be fresh or full-fat tinned, never a light or sweetened product. In Samoa it is pe’epe’e, hand-squeezed that morning, and it separates over time; a little splitting is normal and expected.
• Do not marinate the fish in the coconut cream for hours. Oka i’a is dressed and eaten straight away; left overnight the fish goes soft and the cream turns sour and grainy.
• Raw fish safety: for tuna, buy previously frozen or sashimi-grade product. Freezing at minus 20°C (-4°F) for seven days is the standard parasite control for most raw fish preparations.
• Oka is the Samoan member of the wider Pacific family that includes Tahitian poisson cru, Fijian kokoda and Cook Islands ika mata; the Samoan version is characteristically heavier on onion and chilli.

Substitutions

• No sashimi tuna? Any very fresh firm white fish works: snapper, mahi-mahi, wahoo or kingfish. Avoid oily small fish, which go mushy in citrus.
• Tinned coconut cream, chilled and the thick top skimmed off, is a fair stand-in for fresh pe’epe’e.
• Lemon is used as often as lime in Samoa; do not use bottled juice, which tastes flatly bitter here.

Variations

• A version with grated fresh coconut folded through as well, for more chew.
• Oka made with fresh sea cucumber or with cooked octopus for those who will not eat raw fish.
• The Sunday to’ona’i plate, where oka is served alongside palusami and roast taro.

History

Reef fish or tuna is cured in lemon juice then dressed with coconut cream; the same dish appears across Polynesia under different names.

Frequently asked questions

What is Oka i’a?

Oka i’a is a main from Samoa: raw fish marinated in lemon, coconut cream, onion and chili. Reef fish or tuna is cured in lemon juice then dressed with coconut cream; the same dish appears across Polynesia under different names.

How long does Oka i’a take to make?

Oka i’a takes 25 min plus 20 min curing of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Oka i’a?

Yes, within limits. No sashimi tuna? Any very fresh firm white fish works: snapper, mahi-mahi, wahoo or kingfish. Avoid oily small fish, which go mushy in citrus. Tinned coconut cream, chilled and the thick top skimmed off, is a fair stand-in for fresh pe’epe’e. Lemon is used as often as lime in Samoa; do not use bottled juice, which tastes flatly bitter here.

What is the most important thing to get right in Oka i’a?

Buy the fish from a fishmonger you trust and keep it iced until the moment you cut it. Oka i’a is raw fish and the only real quality control is freshness; the flesh should smell of the sea and nothing else.