Comments on: Supping Samoan Style

By: dan

dan — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:04:26 +0000

Kimberly,

The food we prepared is covered in the post, including how to make them - I just don’t give detailed quantities on most recipes, because it isn’t the way I cook. If you’re looking for some other places to find Samoan recipes, I’d recommend just a google search for “samoan recipes” or something similar - I found quite a few sites with good information and detailed recipes.

By: Kimberly Aquino

Kimberly Aquino — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:58:18 +0000

what are some desserts and what are the recipes

By: dan

dan — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 14:20:21 +0000

If you mean the inspiration for the theme, just random wandering various “today in history” sort of sites. If you mean the menu, I spent a couple of hours perusing internet sites that had recipes and information about Samoan cuisine, picked out what seemed to be the primary ingredients, combinations, etc., and worked it out from there, based on what’s available here.

By: ksternberg

ksternberg — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 14:05:49 +0000

Wow, indeed, for the useful information in the first comment. I have to say, though, I think I’d find it pretty challenging to eat in Samoa. I’m sure I’d adjust quickly so taro would seem like a hamburger after a while. Where precisely did your inspiration for such a meal come from?

By: dan

dan — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 03:01:19 +0000

Thank you for a ton of great information! It’s amazing how people find their way to and from various blogs and help out across the globe. Much appreciated.

By: Matapona

Matapona — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 23:44:42 +0000

I thought I’d answer a couple of your questions about Samoan cuisine.

First, okaoka is an interjection often heard if someone is amazed. It’s similar to our expressions of, “Holy cow,” or “Wow,” though the meaning is different.

Oka i’a is soused fish. To ‘oka’ is to souse, and i’a is the general word for fish. Many fish can be made into oka, but a very common fish that is used is the atu, or bonito, which is a type of tuna. Many smaller reef fish are also used in oka, sometimes whole with only the innards removed.

You wondered what native vegetables would be found in oka. Samoa doesn’t have many native vegetables. Taro leaves as you know is the primary one. Limu, which is a type of seaweed is also eaten but I don’t know that it would be found in an oka. Oka traditionally would have been made using salt water and would have been eaten at sea or by the seashore. But once a variety of citrus fruits arrived on the islands with European contact, lime juice became the favored sousing agent. I’ve seen oka made with mayonnaise and soy sauce; I’ve heard Samoans talk of oka made with Tabasco sauce or other chili sauce equivalents. But lime, coconut milk, and cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes with the raw bonito is very popular. By comparison, oka is similar to the Hawaiian lomilomi salmon and preparation of oka has undoubtedly been influenced by the same via cultural diffusion.

Samoan desserts are subtle in their sweetness compared to more ‘Western’ desserts. Fa’ausi is made from taro root or green papaya and has somewhat caramelized coconut milk sauce. Taufolo is made from a particular variety of breadfruit and resembles a very stiff caramelized pudding. Both Fa’ausi and taufolo are delicious once a person has come to appreciate the subtlety of their respective flavors and textures.

I hope this information is helpful for any future Independence Day celebrations. Your menu, however, looks delicious and I’m sure it was a lot of fun to create.

Soifua (To life!),
Matapona