About Tonga > Culture > Tongan Food & Feasting

Feasting plays a major role in the Tongan lifestyle. Tongan feasts contain a variety of dishes and are known throughout the Pacific to be massive in size.

On a ‘pola’ or long tray made from plaited coconut fronds there can be up to 30 different dishes – suckling pig, fish, beef, lu, octopus, vegetables and a complete range of tropical fruits.
Traditional Tongan food includes meat, root crops, vegetables and fruits. Common meats in the Kingdom of Tonga are pork, chicken, mutton flaps and fish. Root crops include yam, taro, sweet potatoes and cassava and fruit vegetables (banana, breadfruit) are usually boiled with coconut cream. Vegetables include tomato, carrot, spinach, cabbage, pumpkin, onion.

Often leaves like taro or banana are used in cooking to wrap the vegetables and for serving.

A feast is incomplete without the Kingdom of Tonga’s delicacies, roasted pig and seafood. A seafood speciality is ‘ota ika (raw fish marinated in lemon and coconut cream). Another favourite is ‘lu pulu’ – corned beef and coconut milk wrapped in taro leaves.

With the exception of suckling pig which is roasted over an open fire, Tongan foods are cooked in an underground oven called an ‘umu’. Food cooked in this manner loses little of its flavor.

Below are some recipes for some traditional Tongan dishes. Enjoy!

Umu

To make an umu:

Step 1:  Dig a big hole in the ground.

Step 2:  Make a fire with wood in the whole, place in rocks.

Step 3:  Remove ashes when rocks are really hot.

Step 4:  Place food (meat and vegetables) in the hole.

Step 5:  Cover with banana leaves then seal over with matting and leave for several hours.

Lu Sipi

Ingredients

* Talo (taro) leaves
* Coconut cream
* Lamb meat
* Onions
* Aluminuim Foil

Method

Step 1: Place aluminium foil on bench.

Step 2: Arrange talo leaves overlapping on foil, making sure that there are no gaps.

Step 3: Cut lamb meat into cubes and place on talo leaves.

Step 4: Slice onions and place on talo leaves on meat.

Step 5: Pour on coconut cream. Fold over leaves.

Step 6: Fold it up with aluminium foil and put in oven and bake.

Serving

Serve with steamed taro, yam or sweet potato.

Lu Pulu

Ingredients

* One small can of corned beef
* Talo (taro)leaves
* Coconut cream
* Chopped onions
* Aluminium foil or banana leaves

Method

Step 1: Cut the foil and spread out in a square shape.

Step 2: Arrange the talo leaves onto the foil. Make sure that there are no gaps.

Step 3: Slice the corned beef and lay it on the leaves.

Step 4: Put the onions on the meat.

Step 5: Spread the coconut cream all over the corned beef.

Step 6: Fold it up by the leaves then fold over the foil, cook in an oven.

Serving

Serve with steamed taro, mixed sliced vegetables, salt and a glass of watermelon drink.

‘Ota Ika

Ingredients

* fresh fish (raw). .
* coconut cream.
* chopped onions.
* vegetables (tomato, lettuce).

Method

Step 1: Cut fish into cubes and place in clean bowl.

Step 2: Marinate freshly cut fish with lemon juice (leave for a few minutes).

Step 3: Add coconut milk, onions and vegetables (add salt to taste).