Kokoda (Fijian Coconut-Citrus Ceviche) 🐟

Name: Kokoda (Fijian Coconut-Citrus Ceviche)
Prep time: 16 min
Cook time: 24 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 2-4 servings
Cuisine: Fijian
Ingredients: 400 g very fresh tuna or mahi-mahi, in 1.5 cm cubes; 6-8 limes, juiced (about 150 ml — enough to cover the fish); 200 ml thick coconut cream (the stiff top of a can, or freshly pressed); 1 medium tomato, deseeded, small dice; 1/2 small red onion, sliced paper-thin; 1 green chili or 1/2 red, finely sliced (optional); 1 tbsp cucumber, finely diced (optional, classic); 1/2 tsp salt; Wedges of lime and cassava chips or bread, to serve

Kokoda is the Pacific in a bowl: raw reef fish cured first in sharp lime juice, then bathed in thick coconut cream until it turns silky, and finished with tomato, onion and a whisper of chili. Fijian grandmothers insist the fish is 'cooked twice' — once by acid, once by coconut — and that any other method is a rumor. Served cold in coconut shells as the ceremonial first course of every lovo feast, it's the most elegant thing you can do with a supermarket tuna steak: no heat, no smoke, just timing and good cream. Make it 30 minutes before guests arrive, not three hours.

Suva Fijian ⏱ 40 min Easy

Method

1

Cube the fish and submerge in lime juice in a non-reactive bowl. Refrigerate 20-30 minutes, stirring once, until the outside turns opaque and firm when pressed.
2

Drain the citrus (keep the liquid for sipping if you dare — Fijians sometimes do). The fish should look cooked around each edge.
3

Fold in coconut cream until every cube wears a glossy white coat. Salt to taste.
4

Add tomato, onion, cucumber and chili; fold once gently. Overmixing bruises the fish.
5

Chill 10 minutes. Serve cold, ideally in coconut half-shells or small glasses, with cassava chips for scooping.
6

Timing rule: assemble within the hour you serve it. Kokoda waiting is not kokoda, it is soup.

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