Top 5 Foods to Try in Fiji

Food is an important part of any holiday, and Fiji holidays are no exception. Fiji combines rice with coconut and fish in many unique ways to create some of the tastiest food in the world. Here are five foods you must not miss when visiting Fiji.

1. The top of every list is Kokoda. It is a colourful, raw fish preparation that seems to represent the flavour of the island. White fish such as mahi mahi is soaked for several hours in fresh lime juice and chilled. It is then mixed with chopped vegetables and coconut cream. It is served chilled.

2. Tavioka or tapioca is used to make a very special dish in Fiji. A sublime sweet, it is made by boiling, baking or grating the tapioca and mixing it with mashed bananas and sugar. Coconut cream is added to make it smooth and creamy. Some people add a few onions for something truly unusual.

3. Dhal soup is a common dish and very flavourful. It is spicy and soothing at the same time and is a traditional dish. Made with lentils, garlic, turmeric, green chili, curry, onions, fenugreek and mustard seeds it is a hearty, aromatic soup and very satisfying. Sometimes soy sauce is also added just before eating.

4. Coconut chutney is a condiment that is eaten with many dishes. It is present at most all meals and is prepared fresh each time. Grated coconut, green chili, cilantro, minced ginger and lemon juice are blended to a smooth texture and eaten with almost all curries and rice.

5. Anything cooked in the lovo or oven in the ground is quintessential Fijian. The method of preparation is roasting food including fish, meat, or vegetables on hot stones buried in a pit surrounded with coconut husks and covered with banana leaves. Sometimes it takes hours to cook, but you will have your whole meal from the pit, and it will be sublime.

Fiji holidays will not be complete unless you taste the local flavours of traditional Fijian food. Based on fish, coconut and rice, the fragrant spices make each dish unique.