Samoa Food

A 'light lunch' and a basic village skill

2012-02-28T15:11:00.000+09:00

This was a simple to'ona'i (Sunday lunch) in Samoa, and looking back at it now, it was a relatively healthy one, especially as this food was meant for two people. From the top left clockwise is supo mamoe (lamb soup), oka (fish in coconut milk), curried chicken, selection of roast taro, ta'amu and ulu (breadfruit), a hidden package of luau and a plate of umu-cooked pork.

And take a look at the serving 'platter' holding the various roots and luau. Do you think you can weave a serving mat like that? If you can, you can make mats for serving food, mats to sleep on, mats to keep the wind and rain out of your house, baskets for carrying things and even hats and fans. So add that to your list of basic survival skills - weaving.

Coconut Cookies

2012-02-25T10:51:00.000+09:00

I love masi Samoa. Who doesn't? But I was curious about cookies made with shredded coconut instead of coconut milk. Would the flavour be as good as masi Samoa? Would it be better?

To compare, I tried out two different kinds of cookies: coconut shortbread and chewy coconut cookies.

I wasn't overly impressed with the shortbread. The coconut flavour was very understated and the shortbread was kind of blah. They even look kind of blah.

But the chewy coconut cookies were sublime. The cookie was crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, and the coconut stood out in a nice way.

At the end of the day, masi Samoa are still number one. But these cookies are a close number two. Try them and see!

Chewy Coconut Cookies
(makes 18)
¼ cup (60g) butter, softened
½ cup (100g) white sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup (125g) flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
½ cup (40g) coconut

Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder and salt, mixing well. Finally, stir in the coconut. Shape it into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for at least two hours or until firm.

Unwrap the cookie dough and slice into ¼ inch (5 mm) slices. Place 2 inches (5 cm) apart on lined baking sheets. Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 6 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

These will soften the day after, so store them in an airtight container, or save all the hassle and store them in your belly, like I did.

Keke fa'i - banana cake

2012-02-21T23:20:00.000+09:00

In my childhood home, our pots ranged from large to gigantic. We used massive rectangular roasting dishes and deep stock pots almost every day. Food was dished from giant serving plates and bowls using matching giant serving spoons and tongs.

We had a wok that was so big it couldn't be lifted with one hand, and a ginormous teapot bigger than the size of my head. That Jurassic teapot was always filled with tea or coffee or koko, the spout plugged with a makeshift newspaper 'cork' to keep the flies out.

What I remember of our kitchen was that everything was either big, bigger or biggest. The chopping boards, the knives, the juice pitchers, the wooden spoons - all HUGE.

No, we didn't run a catering business.
We were just your average Samoan family.

So my mother would make this cake in a baking pan that I think only professional wedding cake makers use. That pan I remember was about 16 inches (40 cm) in diameter, and despite its size the cakes always came out perfectly, without sticking. When she turned her cakes out onto the cooling rack, they would land with a puff of steam, smooth dark brown edges and an irresistible baked banana smell.

In my current kitchen, I don't have anything as big as my mother's banana cake pan, so the recipe has been dramatically scaled back. But not the flavour. In this cake, banana is the star.

Keke fa'i (serves 6-8)
makes 8" (20 cm) round cake

1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick + 1 tablespoon (125g) butter, softened

¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 medium overripe bananas)
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup hot milk

Grease and/or line your cake pan and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
With electric beaters, cream the butter with the sugar until it's light and fluffy. Beat in one egg at a time, then the vanilla, beating well after each addition.

Switch from the beaters to a wooden spoon or spatula. Stir the mashed banana into the butter mixture.
Dissolve the baking soda into the milk and stir that in too.
Finally, sift your sifted ingredients into the mixture and gently fold them in.

As soon as all the ingredients are moistened, pour the batter evenly into the cake pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool completely and then fill and top with sweetened whipped cream or chocolate frosting.

Esi Fafao - Stuffed Papayas

2012-02-17T21:52:00.000+09:00

To be honest, this recipe almost didn't make it to the blog. After hollowing out the papaya, I thought, "Stuff the blog. I'm just going to eat this papaya right here, right now." But thanks to my incredible powers of self-control, I managed to get these into the oven and even hold off eating them until I had taken the photos.

Which is a lie.
I ate one papaya, and stuffed the other.
Pfft! You wouldn't have known.

Now, you can make this with green papaya, but I like the taste of almost ripe papaya better. It adds a sweetness to the dish, much like pumpkin or carrots.

Serve this hot out of the oven with rice and a salad.

Esi Fafao (serves 4)
2 papaya
1 small onion
1 red pepper
4 cloves garlic
½ cup fresh parsley
½ cup fresh basil
1 tablespoon oil
½ pound (250 grams) ground beef
1 cup grated cheese
¼ cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
2 tomatoes
salt and pepper
extra grated cheese for topping (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F(180°C).

Halve the papayas. Spoon out the seeds and discard. Scoop out some papaya flesh and put that aside (it will be added to the meat mixture). Be sure to leave enough flesh all around the inside of the skin to hold the filling. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet (use foil wedges to keep them from rolling around, if necessary).

Dice the onion and pepper. Finely chop the garlic, and roughly chop the parsley and basil.

Heat the oil in a frypan and brown the beef. Drain off the fat, then return to the heat, adding the onions, peppers and garlic. Cook until fragrant then turn the heat off. Cool slightly, then throw in the rest of the ingredients, including the reserved papaya flesh. Season the mixture to taste.

Divide evenly between the papaya shells, top with a little more grated cheese if desired, and bake for 50-60 minutes.

Papaya, Pawpaw - Esi

2012-02-16T01:37:00.000+09:00

The papaya can be used both raw and ripe. When it's raw, use it like a vegetable in pickles, salads and savoury dishes. When it's cooked it tastes a lot like squash. Green papaya is also a wonderful meat tenderiser so use it to soften up steaks for the grill, but reserve the tenderising marinade and cook that up too, because it will be extra flavourful from the meat.

If you have ripe papayas, the subtle sweetness of the fruit is perfect for desserts and drinks, or eat them as nature intended, au naturel (the fruit, not you!).

And here are two interesting facts that only the real kuabacks know: If you get bitten by a mosquito - high chance of that in Samoa - then use the white sap of the raw papaya (white stuff just under the skin) to reduce the itch. To stop getting bitten in the first place, just burn some papaya leaves - mosquitos hate the smell.

Happy cooking everyone!

Chef Sam Choy - Hawaii's Celebrity Chef

2012-02-13T02:24:00.000+09:00

This is the first of what I hope will become a regular feature here at SamoaFood.com - interviews with island chefs and/or those who work daily with island food. I know that most of us are home cooks, but it doesn't hurt to hear how the pros do it, right?

Chef Choy grilling ahi

To kick things off, it's an honour to present my recent interview with Chef Sam Choy.

Chef Choy is a James Beard award winner (the restaurant version of the Oscars), a prolific cookbook writer, and a champion for Hawaiian Heritage Cooking. (Heritage cooking is cooking traditional foods, those that evoke memories of special people and special times. It is 'remembering through food'. Sounds a lot like what we are doing here at SamoaFood.com, nay?).

Chef Choy has competed on Iron Chef America, and appeared in Ready..Set..Cook! and his own cooking show 'Sam Choy's Kitchen'. He creates menus for American Airlines and even has his own signature food and coffee range.

Actually, Chef Choy doesn't know it, but he was one of the original inspirations for my food blog through his book Sam Choy's Polynesian Kitchen, without which I would not be writing recipes for you guys today. So it's fitting that he is our first ever chef guest here at SamoaFood.com.

Chef Choy, thanks for being so generous with your time.

You've been doing true Hawaiian Heritage Cooking for some decades now. What trends have you seen over the years? What would you like to see in the future?

The trends that I have seen over the years went from traditional, Nouvelle, Fusion cooking, Heritage even fast food. In the future, I would like to see more sustainable cooking.

What was your vision for the cuisine at your restaurant Kai Lanai?

My vision for the cuisine at my Kai Lanai restaurant is sustainable cooking with local Island Heritage; just a combination that would entice anyone’s palate.

I was salivating just reading over the menu. What dishes do you highly recommend for first time visitors?

I would suggest the Noodlemania made with fresh vegetables and chicken or beef along with chowmein noodles, or any of our fresh island fish cooked to your preference, or our salads.

Can you give us your impression of Samoa and Samoan food?

Samoa is the land of the “happy people” and the food is very unique and good. Being born and raised in Laie, we always ate Samoan food; puligi, fa'ausi, sapasui, etc.

What ingredient(s) could you not live without?

I think I could not live without mayonnaise because you can do a lot of different things with it.

What's your favourite local/regional dish?

My favorite local dish would be poke.

Do you have one piece of advice for my readers who want to make great-tasting island food at home?

Always start with fresh ingredients and don’t be afraid to do different things with your cooking.

Many thanks to Chef Choy and his wife Carol for sharing their thoughts.

If you're in Hawai'i, please check out Sam Choy's Kai Lanai and grab some Noodlemania. And if you would like to try out some of Sam's flavoursome recipes at home, pick up one of his cookbooks from Amazon.

[Are there any chefs/cooks you would like to see featured here? Make your suggestions and I'll see what I can do.]

Koko Samoa Suppliers

2012-02-10T23:30:00.000+09:00

Since this site has been up, I've had a lot of enquiries for koko samoa suppliers. I know of three excellent sources that ship overseas and I'm going to tell you about two of them. (The third source is my sister D, and somehow I don't think she'd appreciate you guys emailing her for koko).

The first source is an internet vendor called ParadiseGypsy (catchy name right?). She sells Samoan goods such as crafts and jewellery, as well as our beloved koko samoa. The great thing about her koko is that it arrives at her place warm and unset - in other words, it is super fresh. She actually has to wait for it to harden before she can ship it off to you. This freshness is probably why she sends volumes of koko to the States and Australia.

Of course, she also does smaller individual orders. She tells me that she can provide other local foodstuffs that are not on her website and has even, on occasion, shipped Vailima! I have ordered koko from her in the past and found both the price of her koko and the sending costs to be very reasonable (she ships via American Samoa). Check out her website and send her an email if you are interested in ordering.

The second source for koko samoa is Wilex Samoa, who export a range of cocoa, coconut and chocolate products. Since 1996, this company has been doing amazing things with koko samoa, such as creating boutique chocolates with coconut, nonu and other tropical fruits dipped in French cognac. All their products are GM free (not genetically modified) and arrive packed in retail bags. Visit their website, or email Eddie Wilson, who is the Managing Director, for more details on their products and shipping.

Now all you koko-heads out there, you have no reason to be using powdered cocoa for your next koko alaisa. Buy the real thing and support some local Samoan businesses. Yay!

New name, Facebook, preventing copycats

2012-02-07T23:05:00.000+09:00

Does anyone else out there have usernames and passwords coming out their wazoo? Hotmail, Yahoo, Blogger, Wordpress, Google+, Facebook...It's hard to know what to use and what to join when all I want to do is connect with readers. So I've been busy over the past few days overhauling the site.

First, I've changed the name. Let's take it out of my kitchen, and into the world. We are now officially SamoaFood.com (because some elo has already taken SamoanFood.com).

Second, I joined Facebook. Yes, had to join the 21st century and get on the 1 billion dollar social network. So if you like Samoan food, and you want to see more recipes and more videos, please click "like".

Third, I've blocked right-click copying of all my content and on Facebook, my photos will be watermarked as per a winning suggestion by Goddess. And if you sneaky buggers find another way to take what's mine and pass it off as yours, then you're just too darned smart for me. Knock yourself out.

For an example of how to reference people's work online, please go to myfudo.com. The lovely ladies there have provided links to all my posts, and referenced my blog countless times. Not to mention the fact that they made Samoan food look so professional!

Happy Cooking everyone!

Koko for the masses

2012-02-06T10:24:00.000+09:00

I experimented with another recipe today using Koko Samoa. I call these Koko Popo Brownies. The jury is still out on whether these are any good, but if I get the 'go ahead' from my tasters, the recipe will be posted up here.

Now, let's play a little "what if?".
Imagine that one day in the future, you walk into your local supermarket to buy some cocoa because you've been dying for some Koko Popo Brownies.

In the cocoa section, you see Hershey's Dark Cocoa Powder, Droste, Van Houten. On the shelf below that is Valrhona, Ghirardelli, and Scharffen Berger. You look further down, trying to find a name you can pronounce, and down there, right next to the Nestle and Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa Mix is - could it be? No way!...you rub your eyes in disbelief and look again. Sure enough, it's Koko Samoa! You grab a box and happily skip home to bake your brownies...

Do you think we'll ever see the day when we can buy koko samoa anywhere, everywhere?

Here are some ideas I came up with for making this possibility a reality:

Control the quality
Make sure the koko quality is high and consistent. I get so disappointed when I buy a lump of koko that is filled with burnt nibs.

Change the mould
Enough with the styrofoam cups already! While the cup-sized block of koko represents good value for money and is easy to produce, it's not a sophisticated enough mould for international marketing, unless the cup is dedicated packaging and is used as a marketing ploy (ie. 'For a hot cup of goodness, try Koko Samoa - cup included'). Also a lump of koko is not user-friendly. People these days want instant drinks, ones that are easy to prepare and require minimum effort.

Which leads me to my next suggestion:

Offer single serve tablets
I felt a little stupid making a recipe for koko samoa (the drink) because it's not really something Samoan people measure. But the feedback has been that it's a useful recipe. People who didn't grow up drinking the stuff were unsure about the proportions of koko to water to sugar. So how about selling a bag filled with tablets of koko that are just enough for one cup. If you want to make three cups of koko, throw in three tablets. What could be simpler than that?

Add sugar
Instead of selling tablets of just koko, why not pound the sugar together with the koko. That way, there's no guesswork in how much sugar to add to your drink - one tablet takes care of everything except the milk, which is optional.

Add flavouring
How about having plain tablets and flavoured tablets? I've seen organic vanilla beans being grown in Samoa, as well as ginger, and chilli. These could be added to the tablets for an extra layer of flavour. The Mexicans do it with cinnamon and almonds, so why can't we?

Offer two grades of koko
Why not have finely ground and coarse (eg. with pegu) koko. Not everyone is a fan of pegu (nibs), so a finer koko might appeal to those that want the taste of koko without the accompanying sediment.

Give the tablets a unique shape
My final idea is to give the tablets of koko a catchy shape - How about little cacao pods? Or mini Samoan fale (houses)? Tiny coconuts?

What do you think? And do you have any ideas to add? Jot them below and maybe a Samoan koko producer will stumble across our ideas and do something to raise the culinary profile of this wonderfully unique ingredient.

http://panipopos.blogspot.com

Mangoes - Mago

2012-02-03T20:39:00.000+09:00

Did you know that potatoes and tomatoes are related? A farmer once told me that these two vegetables come from the same plant family and you can see this connection by the shape of their leaves.

Guess which plants the mango is related to? Surprisingly, it's a cousin of the cashew and pistachio (which btw, are both seeds and not nuts, but that's a whole other blog post).

Back to the mango...

Mango pudding

Mangoes grow right across the Pacific and Asia where they originated and it is one of those superfruits like blueberries and avocados. The ripe mango has lots of vitamin A (good for healthy eyes and your immune system) and the unripe fruit is high in vitamin C (helps your body absorb iron). Like the banana, mango has lots of potassium (for regulating your blood pressure) and if you eat just one mango, you've consumed about 12% of your daily fibre requirement.

When buying your mangoes, give them a quick sniff. The more fragrant the fruit at the stem end, the tastier it is likely to be. Also give it the squeeze test, as you would with a peach or avocado. If the fruit 'gives' a little, then it's ready to be eaten. Remember that the redness of a mango is not an indication of ripeness. Use mangoes in fruit salads, drinks, poi, or baked desserts. Or simply eat them fresh. That's how most Samoans enjoy them.

For more info about mangoes, please visit the National Mango Board.

http://panipopos.blogspot.com

Poi Mago - Mango pudding

2012-02-02T14:54:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

It always amazes me that the fruit that grows so abundantly in Samoa is sold in my supermarket for $5 a piece (That's 15 tala per mango for those of you in Samoa.) In the islands, these fruit are abundant, free to the earth, trees so heavily laden the fruit are dropping off the tree and rotting on the ground; and these jokers slap a sticker on them and charge me five bucks a mango. Shheeesh...

A medium mango should give you enough fruit for this recipe.

Poi Mago
(serves 2)
1 cup mango flesh
juice and zest of 1 lime or 2 lautipolo/laumoli
½ can (200ml) coconut milk
½ teaspoon vanilla
sugar to taste
ice for serving

Blend everything until smooth.
If you find the poi too thick, add ½ cup of cold water.
Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Serve well-chilled, or over ice. ~~For a spicy kick, sprinkle a little black pepper over the top.~~ Don't mess around with exotic flavour combinations (because you are not Jamie Oliver) and simply eat this as is.

http://panipopos.blogspot.com

A Gentle Reminder

2012-01-30T23:13:00.000+09:00

I post my recipes on the internet for all to use. But if you copy my text and/or pictures and repost them to your facebook page or blog, please have the courtesy to acknowledge SamoaFood.com as your source. It's only fair, don't you think?

Chicken and Taro Leaves...I wish

2012-01-27T00:46:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

Finally gave in.

I didn't want to make anything that required lautalo (taro leaves) because I can't get those where I live. And I wanted to be as true-blue-baby-I-love-you to Samoan food. When email requests came in for palusami, taro leaves baked with coconut milk, I faithfully replied "No can do. Cannot source genuine ingredients. Over and out."

But there comes a time - a 'defining moment' in Oprah-ese - when you just have to face facts: sometimes you have to substitute.

When koko samoa is unavailable, you use cocoa powder; when coconuts don't grow in your back yard, reach for a can; when you can't afford butter, mash an avocado; when you got no candy, chew on some sugar cane...I could go on.

So I've used spinach in place of lautalo. Actually, spinach is not a bad substitute for taro leaves. It's just not as good as the original. Once you've had the real deal, it gives you a food memory that is hard to overwrite.

The following recipe makes a quick, satisfying dinner and I haven't met a single person on earth who doesn't like it.

(Serves 2-3)

1 pound (450 gr) chicken (dark meat)
1 can (400 ml) coconut milk
1 medium onion
1-2 teaspoons salt
1 pound (450 gr) cooked drained spinach OR
1 pound (450 gr) of uncooked young taro leaves

If using spinach: Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Put in a medium saucepan with the coconut milk. Chop the onion and add to the saucepan. Add salt and stir to mix. Bring to the boil then turn down, simmering until the chicken is cooked. Add the spinach and bring to the boil once more, then turn off the heat.

If using taro leaves: Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Put in a medium saucepan with the coconut milk. Chop the onion and add to the saucepan. Add salt and taro leaves stir to mix. Bring to the boil then turn down, simmering gently until the chicken is cooked.

Serve hot with taro, green bananas, breadfruit or rice.

http://panipopos.blogspot.com

Keke Koko - Koko Cake

2011-10-22T17:34:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

You saw it here first!

A Panipopos' Kitchen original.

Keke Koko.

(try saying it real fast, non-stop...sounds like a train)

Now I know there are going to be protests and complaints over this. In fact, when I first mentioned the idea to my sister O, who is in the food business, she said, "Why do you have to mess around with our traditional food?" and I said, "Well someone has to, or else Samoan food is never going to develop".

And I truly believe this.
Why not mix things up a bit and have some fun with Samoan ingredients. You never know. The results could turn out to be finger-licking, fork-licking, even PLATE-licking good.

So, how did this recipe come about? Well, I've been thinking of ways that we can use Koko Samoa that don't involve drinking it. Because let's face it, the whole 'pegu between the teeth' thing isn't everyone's cup of tea.

So what I came up with is a dense fudgy cake with the taste of chocolate, and the texture of nuts. That's right - chocolate plus nuts. Best thing is, there are no chocolate or nuts anywhere in the recipe! Simply koko.

I tested this on a friend that has extreme pegu aversion, and he gave it a thumbs up. So enjoy!

Keke Koko
makes an 8 inch (20cm) square cake

¾ cup grated Koko Samoa
½ cup boiling water
3 eggs
½ cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 sticks (225gr) butter, softened
2 cups flour
1½ cups sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, pour the boiling water over the koko and leave it to cool to room temperature.

Mix the eggs, water and vanilla in a small bowl and set aside.

When the koko has cooled, add the butter to the large bowl and beat until well combined.

Sift in the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat with a mixer on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened and then beat on medium for 1½ minutes.

Finally add the egg mixture in two parts, beating well for ½ a minute after each addition.

Pour into a lined cake pan and bake for 45-60 minutes at 350°F (180°C).

Try to let the cake cool (the aroma will make it difficult) and then cut into 8 or 12 pieces.

Do NOT serve with a cup of freshly brewed koko Samoa. It's just too much, believe me.

While you're munching on your koko cake, take a chance to check out Becki's efforts over at Cooking by Stove. Earlier this year she started cooking around the world, and you can see her take on American Samoan food here. She made our keke pua'a dough and paifala, and looked like she had a heck of a meal! Thanks Becki!

And to those of you out there who make Panipopos' Kitchen recipes, feel free to share your cooking with our readers. Most people only visit my site just to look at the photos anyway.

http://panipopos.blogspot.com

Pai video

2011-09-30T20:47:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

http://panipopos.blogspot.com

Telesa - The Covenant Keeper

2011-09-21T10:18:00.000+09:00

She's the tireless blogger of Sleepless in Samoa. Mother of five, born and bred in Samoa, she's the author of Pacific Tsunami Galu Afi about the tsunami that devastated Samoa in 2009. She's written short fiction that has been widely published in various journals, magazines, newspapers and professionally recorded for radio broadcast in over 30 countries. Her versatility also extends to children's stories that are used in primary school reading programs. I loved, loved, LOVED her short story entitled A True Samoan Woman. She's here today to promote her most recent work, the first in a young adult urban fantasy series, called Telesa - The Covenant Keeper.

It is my honour to welcome to our virtual kitchen the award winning author, Lani Wendt Young!

I feel like I’m in the presence of a rock star – because that’s how I think ofthe amazing owner of Panipopo’s Kitchen. I am constantly in awe of her recipesand every time I leave her blog – I am inspired to try cooking something new inmy own kitchen. (Doesn’t always work like her cooking does though.) Thank youfor welcoming me into your kitchen today.

Thefirst thing my copy editor said to me after she read the TELESA manuscript was– ‘reading this made me soooo hungry! Therich descriptions of all the yummy Samoan food in the book really made me wishthat I was taking a trip to Samoa, just so that I could try some of thedelicious things that Leila was having.’

Ilove to eat and I enjoy cooking so it’s no wonder that a lot of food found itsway into the TELESA book. Eighteen yr old Leila has come to Samoa from Americain search of her ‘roots’, her culture, her family. Raised by her Dad and usedto living on junk food, Leila is introduced to a delectable array of Samoandelights, everything from crisp, sweet panikekewith sinfully rich and sweet kokoSamoa for breakfast - to faiai fe’e octopus baked in coconut cream, oka raw fish soaked in limeand coconut chilled to perfection, chop suey redolent with garlic and ginger.And the desserts! Leila’s Aunty Matile makes a pineapple pie with a crust thatmelts in your mouth, sticky sweet caramel faausi dumplings and pani popo coconut buns luxuriating in asugar-laden coconut cream sauce.

Oneof the best things about food in Samoa – is that so many of the ingredients arefresh and sourced right from out the back door. The best fruit salad I willever eat is one made from papaya and mangoes that my children have picked fromtrees in our yard, ripe bananas we ‘borrowed’ from that bunch hanging over ourneighbor’s fence, and pineapple bought from the produce market at Fugalei. In my book the Telesa are a kind of‘environmental warrior’, closely in tune with the earth and all her bounty –which means they have a gift with plants and draw on a rich treasure of ancientknowledge to make medicines, poisons ( they are telesa after all!) AND food,glorious food.

Telesa - The Covenant Keeper is the first book in a Young Adult fantasyromance series set in modern day Samoa that draws on the legends of teine Sa but with a huge amount ofcreative license and imagination. It’s got action, intrigue, elements of thesupernatural and (of course) it’s got romance with a gorgeous male leadcharacter, Daniel… And woven into all that, is lots of food!

A guest, some comments and another pie

2011-09-20T22:11:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

Tomorrow we have a special guest!
A who-duh-whatwhat?
Yeah, you heard me right - a special guest!

When I faikala (have a nosy) on people's blogs, I invariably find myself on this talented lady's site. I've been lurking on her blog for well over a year now, and her writing never fails to entertain me. It's laugh-out-loud funny, and so relatable.

Who could it be? Who could it be? You'll have to tune in tomorrow to find out.

Now, sometimes, for one reason or another, Blogger doesn't work like it's supposed to. As it's a free service, I can't really complain. But if Blogger won't accept your comments, feel free to email them to me. Please understand that I can't post your comments up under each recipe because that'd look like I'm leaving feedback for myself, and in Samoa, that would qualify me as a vale.

So here are two comments that were rejected by Blogger but landed in my email box:

Jay wrote

Hi, I tried to post a comment but not sure if it went through so am e-mailing. “i am no cook but this was so easy to follow and i'm so proud of myself - they were delicious!!! faafetai tele lava!!

Not sure which recipe that was for, but very happy that even a novice cook could follow my recipes.
And Nydia wrote:

Hi Panipopo,
I can't seem to comment on your blog but I had to email and let you know that I tried the pai fala recipe and it was HIT! It was delicious...so much better than the stuff we buy from the store. I cut down a bit on the sugar though because the fala made it quite sweet. I would try your panipopo recipe, but I'm a lazy baker and it seems less work to buy it from Siaosi's store down the road....but thumbs up to pai fala. Next up is your fruit pie. Will let you know how that goes.
Thanks for such an awesome blog!
Alofas,
Nydia

Thanks guys! Always love getting feedback.

Finally, I made something that I think deserves to go in the 'Samoan-inspired' file. They say that 'Necessity is the mother of invention'. Well, it was a 'necessity' for me to get rid of a whole bag of limes that some well-meaning neighbor had left on my doorstep. People around here love to grow things and when the harvest is bountiful, I start getting mystery produce left in shopping bags outside my door. So to the person that left me 50 limes, I say, HA! I made a pie!
44 more limes to go...

Lime Mousse Pie (serves 12)
makes an 8" (20cm) square pie

Crust:
Make the pai crust and prebake.

Filling and Meringue topping:
4 large eggs, separated
14 ounce (400gr) can sweetened condensed milk
¾ cup (180ml) fresh lime juice
1½ teaspoons finely grated lime zest
⅓ cup sugar
green food colouring (optional)

Put the egg yolks and condensed milk in a bowl and whisk together. Beat in the lime juice and then the zest.

Next, beat egg whites and the sugar until they are stiff but not dry. Fold about half of this meringue into your filling mixture. Add 2-3 drops of coloring if you want a limey look. (And easy on the colouring. It doesn't take much to go from tropical lime to dark forest green.) Pour the filling into the pre-baked crust and bake it for 15 minutes at 350°F (180°C).

Take the pie out of the oven, and turn the heat up to 375°F (190°C). Spread the rest of the meringue over the hot filling and use the back of a spoon to decoratively make peaks and swirls. Put the pie back in the oven for 5-10 minutes until the meringue is golden brown.

Remove the pie from the oven and cool. Then put it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or overnight.

Because this pie is very rich, cut it into 12 rectangular pieces. Although the filling is a creamy light mousse, it carries an intense lime flavour.

http://panipopos.blogspot.com

Pai - Fruit pie

2011-09-18T19:48:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

If I say the word "pie", what image springs to mind?
For most people, it's a double crusted round pie with a little steam vent in the top crust or a latticed fruit pie. The crust is made of flaky pastry which has a fluted edge, perhaps dusted with sugar. One serving is cut into a wedge-shape that fits nicely onto a silver cake server, and it's eaten either hot or cold with a scoop of ice-cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

If you said the word "pai" to me, the image that immediately pops into my head is a deep rectangular roasting dish half-filled with square pieces of pie, that are quickly disappearing as they are being lifted with an egg spatula onto saucers standing nearby. The bottom layer is like a thick crumbly buttery cookie. Above that is a moist fat layer of fruit and custard. This is topped off with light and fluffy meringue or chantilly cream. Three layers of yumminess. One square of heaven.

When this pai is put in front of me, the custard barely has time to stop jiggling before I've finished it off and taken my saucer back for more. If we've brought some pai home from some event and it's sitting in the refrigerator, then late that same evening, I'll creep into the kitchen, make sure no-one's about, and then eat that pie straight out of the roasting dish with the biggest spoon I can find. I don't even bother turning the kitchen lights on. Just use the light from the refrigerator.

Yes, this is one of those foods that makes a glutton out of me.

Enjoy!

http://panipopos.blogspot.com

Surimi Salad

2011-08-14T01:00:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

It's summer and my kitchen is almost the same temperature as my body temperature, so the last thing I feel like doing is cooking. In this kind of weather, the only thing I can be bothered making are smoothies and salads. So here is a salad I ate a lot growing up. The ingredients and measurements are totally flexible, depending on your preferences.

Surimi Salad (serves 4)
½ pound (250 gr) surimi (imitation crab meat)
½ head lettuce, shredded
¼ medium onion, finely diced
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 stick celery, sliced
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt and pepper, to taste

Shred the surimi and put in a medium bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, seasoning to taste, and toss well. Cover the salad and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Toss once more before serving.

If you think that the mayonnaise isn't "dressing" enough for this salad, trust me, it is. While the salad is sitting in the fridge, some liquid from the tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber will mix in with the mayo and combined with the flavour of the surimi, you'll end up with a nice tasty pool of dressing at the bottom of the salad bowl. Which is why I suggest you toss it just before serving.

While you're munching on your salad, I just want to take this chance to thank everyone for your continued support and encouragement. Even though I haven't posted anything for the last couple of months, I still get emails and comments every day about how my work has impacted your life. It's only been a year since I started blogging but the response has been overwhelming. So THANKS very much.

Jay sent me a wonderful photo of her panikeke she made. I'm sure you'll agree they make you want to reach through the screen and do the cookie monster thing.

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Kopai Video

2011-06-02T15:47:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

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Kopai Koko

2011-05-25T23:28:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

Kopai koko provides a contrast in textures - soft and smooth dumplings with gritty rich koko. I don't recommend you make coconut dumplings for this, because it gives too much graininess to the dish.

Serve around half a dozen puka with a bowlful of sosi.

http://panipopos.blogspot.com/

Kopai 'Ega'ega - Caramel Kopai

2011-05-24T17:26:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

This is probably my favourite kopai. It's like eating dessert for breakfast.

The dumplings are paired with a milky caramel sauce.

I admit, I don't really know what the proper name for this is. In my house, it was always just called kopai. So, to differentiate the kopai recipes on this blog, I've called this one Kopai 'Ega'ega (brown kopai) or Kopai 'Ena'ena if you're being polite, but if anyone out there knows the proper name, please let me know.

Serve around half a dozen puka with a bowlful of sosi.

http://panipopos.blogspot.com

Kopai Pa'epa'e - White Kopai

2011-05-23T12:23:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

This is the plainest version of kopai, but delicious nonetheless. It gets it's flavour from milk/coconut milk and laumoli, if you have it.

http://panipopos.blogspot.com/

Puka Kopai - Kopai Dumplings

2011-05-22T23:36:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

Samoa, and much of the Pacific, is prone to cyclones. If one of these tropical storms hits really hard, then the natural food resources that Samoans depend upon are severely depleted. When such a disaster happened in the past, food relief and aid came in mainly from New Zealand, Australia, and the US. Now, where am I going with all this seriousness?

Oh yeah, I was trying to give you guys a historical context for kopai. So anyway, because assistance was coming in from benevolent Western nations, the food aid packages typically consisted of flour, sugar, rice, canned fish and canned meats.

In my imagination, the first native cyclone survivors to receive these packages of Western staple foods were probably thinking,"What the -?!? Huh?!?"

But then Samoan ingenuity kicked in. Cooking fires were started up, cans were forced open with sapelu (machetes), and people thought of as many ways as they could to use the foreign white stuff - rice, flour and sugar.

I'm convinced that Samoan classics like sua alaisa, koko alaisa, fa'apapa, panikeke, and alaisa fa'apopo, all originated during a post-cyclone burst of cooking creativity. But prize for the most inventive Samoan dish using only three ingredients has got to be...(drumroll)...kopai.

I mean, how...really, HOW do you take flour, sugar and water and make a dish that's super tasty, stands the test of time, and is beloved by Samoans the world over?

I'll never know. But it's GENIUS.

Sua I'a video

2011-04-30T22:37:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

http://panipopos.blogspot.com

Sua I'a - Fish Soup

2011-04-20T23:26:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

I've met two people in my life who avoid meat served with bones in it. According to these folk, it's too much trouble, too messy, and just plain primative to be gnawing meat from a bone. These guys (yes, they are both men, grown men) think that chicken, pork, beef and fish must be able to be cut with a knife and eaten with a fork. If, by some great misfortune, they happen to get served a bone, they'll cut a little meat here and there. But when their plate is returned to the kitchen, you may as well serve that meat right back out to someone else for all the flesh that will be left on the bone.

Now obviously, these people are not Samoan.

You see, a Samoan's plate would be returned to the kitchen with bones as clean as a whistle. Or maybe that's just the Samoans in my family.

Let me illustrate. If my family had chicken legs for dinner, we'd be crunching away at the cartilage like it was a carrot. If we had beef, we'd be sucking out the gelatinous marrow from inside the bones. Pork, well, if it was straight from the umu and fall-off-the-bone-tender, no work involved there. But if we were eating trotters, all twenty-something of the individual bones in the pig's foot would be so clean, you could wire them together and exhibit them at a natural museum.

But let me tell you about the fish. When my family ate fish, dinner conversation was scarce. Instead, you'd hear slurping and sucking sounds and lots of finger licking, pausing only to pick out the bones from our mouth and place them in a neat pile on the side of our plate. I mean, fish took our bone-cleaning skills to the highest level of expertise. I'm not talking about eating the fish's body and tail - that's child's play. I'm talking about breaking down a fish head, getting a full meal out of it, eyeballs and all!

The following recipe is for those of you who are right now thinking "Oh yeah, I totally know what she's talking about". It's for you that have read this far, and have not screwed up their face in disgust. It's for the shameless cartilage-crunching, marrow-sucking, trotter-eating, fish-eye-loving bone cleaners amongst us. I know you're out there.

Sua I'a (serves 3-4)
1 lb (450-500g) whole fish or fish pieces with bones
½ an onion
1 can (400ml) coconut milk
1-2 (400-800ml) cans water*
salt to taste
2 spring onions (optional)

* Add enough water so that your fish is mostly if not completely covered.

Any medium-firm textured fish (snapper, sea bass, yellowtail etc) works well in this soup.

If you're using a whole fish, clean, scale and gut it, then chop it into serving size pieces.

Slice your onion thinly.

Put the fish pieces and onion in a small pot. Add the coconut milk and water. Season with salt. Bring to the boil and then turn down and simmer for up to 10 minutes, depending on the size of the fish pieces. Don't overcook your fish, or you might find all the flesh has fallen off the bones, and is floating at the bottom of your soup.

While that's cooking, slice the spring onions. When the fish is cooked, turn off the heat, throw in the spring onions and cover.

Serve hot, either in a bowl, or with the fish on a plate and the soup in a mug.

And enjoy fishing out dem bones!

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Poi video

2011-04-18T00:44:00.000+09:00

By panipopos http://panipopos.blogspot.com

Poi - Banana Pudding

2011-04-12T23:05:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

With the weather getting warmer, it's the perfect time for poi. While Hawaiian poi is made from taro, Samoan poi is made from beautifully ripe bananas. (Incidentally, Maori poi is made from natural fibres and should not be eaten.)

Poi is a chilled dessert that also makes a refreshing snack on a warm day. In olden times, poi was mashed with the hands and mixed with cool drinking water. Our version, updated for the 21st century, uses a blender and ice. But feel free to use your hands, or even your feet, like the French used when stomping grapes for wine.

OK, just kidding about the feet. What do you think we are? Savages?

Some people use lautipolo/laumoli to flavour this, but I find that the lemon zest adds a nice texture to the poi. Also, the sugar is optional, but if you have really sweet bananas, it's not necessary. Bon appetit!

Poi (serves 2)
1 lb ripe (500g) peeled ripe bananas
zest of 1 lemon or 2 lautipolo/laumoli
½ can (200ml) coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
sugar to taste
ice for serving

Mash or blend the bananas until smooth.
Add the lemon zest or lautipolo/laumoli.
Add the coconut milk and vanilla. Mix until well-combined.

Taste for sweetness.
Add sugar if desired.
Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Immediately before serving, stir the discoloured top layer into the rest of the poi. Serve over ice in small bowls or wide-mouth glasses.

* If you find your poi is too thick, add ½ cup of cold water to dilute it.

* Keep refrigerated for up to a day, but best eaten with a few hours.

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Fa'ausi video

2011-04-02T14:17:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

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Fa'ausi - Coconut caramel smothered fa'apapa

2011-03-07T21:03:00.000+09:00

By admin

My Dad went through a stage where he was eating fa'ausi every morning for breakfast. No-one knew this because the man rises at an obscene hour of the morning and does work outside or goes for a walk - or at least that's what we thought he did.

One day, I snapped him out sitting in front of the house, spoon in hand, huge mug of koko samoa (like seriously, who drinks that much koko?) next to an unwrapped, half-eaten package of fa'ausi.

"Oh, since when did you start eating fa'ausi in the morning?" I asked him.

"Oi, se...The other day this kid came around selling fa'ausi and I felt sorry for him so I bought a package. He's been coming around ever since." Dad replied.
"Since when?" I asked again.
"Oh, maybe a week now", he admitted, with a smug, self-satisfied grin on his face, much like a cat that's just swallowed the family goldfish.

See the title picture up above? Behind 'Panipopos Kitchen'? The far left photo is what my father was eating that morning - pumpkin fa'ausi.

One taste of this, and you might get ideas about eating in secret too.

The fa'ausi sauce is so simple that you can make it while your fa'apapa are baking, and then leave it to cool. By the time you've cut up your fa'apapa, your fa'ausi sauce will be ready to pour over it.

Fa'ausi (serves 4)
2 fa'apapa (coconut or pumpkin)
1 cup (200g) sugar
¼ cup (60ml) water
1 can (400ml) coconut milk

Make sure your fa'apapahas cooled to room temperature. Then cut into cubes (½-1 inch squares) and set aside in a bowl.

Put the sugar and waterin a heavy-based saucepan and boil over medium high heat, stirringoccasionally, until the sugar caramelises to a dark golden brown.

Immediatelyadd the coconut milk, being careful to stand back a little because the saucewill bubble up vigourously. Be careful not to burn your hand on the steam thatrises up either. Once the mixture has settled, stir the sauce well untilwell-combined. Turn off the heat and leave the caramel to cool. (See the puligi recipe forthings that can go wrong while you're making coconut caramel).

Pour the coconut caramel over thefa'apapa and mix well to cover all surfaces of the cubes. Leave for at least anhour (preferably longer) for the sauce to soak into the fa'apapa.

Serve as a dessert orsnack. Keep leftovers in the refrigerator and gently reheat to serve.

http://www.SamoaFood.com

Fa'apapa video

2011-03-06T13:30:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

http://panipopos.blogspot.com

Fa'apapa - Baked pumpkin bread

2011-02-28T12:55:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

Traditionally, fa'apapa are wrapped in leaves and thrown in the umu along with everything else. In the modern kitchen, some people use well-greased aluminium foil, which allows the fa'apapa to steam/bake just like it would in an umu. However, I prefer to use baking paper because it results in a firmer, evenly browned crust, and I don't have to peel off bits of foil where it sticks to the fa'apapa.

When you're making fa'apapa, it's best to have your coconut milk at liquid temperature. If it's solidified, it makes it harder to mix in with the flour and you might end up with tough fa'apapa. Simply put your coconut milk in the microwave for a few seconds to melt it into its liquid state, but be careful not to heat it. As always, you're going to get a much richer flavour from fresh coconut milk versus the canned stuff.

Oh and just for the record, fa'apapa does not mean bread. To fa'apapa something is to flatten it. In cooking, it means to wrap something into flat parcels and bake in an umu (Samoan oven). Although I have absolutely no proof of it, my theory is that the verb fa'apapa was originally applied to this bread because of its form and cooking method, and over time fa'apapa became the general term for this kind of baked good.

Fa'apapa can be made with coconut, pumpkin, taro, and banana, but there might be other kinds out there that I haven't tasted. The following variation is one of my favorites.

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Fa'apapa - Baked coconut bread

2011-02-27T23:55:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

So the other day, my mother called me "old school".
She didn't use those exact words but the implication was clear. I've been away too long.

How did this happen?
Well, I was telling her how I was making fa'apapa, the way we used to have it when I was little. Fa'apapa in those days were these heavy, thick, dense coconut slabs that you could break your teeth on. An old Samoan woman could keep this kind of fa'apapa in her bag and nibble a lump off while waiting for the bus, sitting in church, in the doctor's waiting room. And the fa'apapa also doubled as a weapon in case she got mugged. One hit, and the guy would be out like a light.

So I was telling my mother how I had succeeded in recreating the same kind of hard crunchy crust around a dense coconut texture, weighing the requisite one pound, and the woman says "Oh, we don't make them like that anymore".

"What? What do you mean?" I ask her.
"Yeah, these days, we like lighter, fluffier fa'apapa." my mother replies.
"Huh? What are you talking about, 'lighter' 'fluffier'? They're supposed to be bricks of coconut right?"
"No, that's how they used to make them. Some people still make it that way (eg. my old-school daughter). But these days, we add baking powder to give it a bit of lift and don't add so much coconut. It tastes better too."

Well, I'll be darned. Who would have thought that fa'apapa would evolve without me.

So I've been experimenting with the traditional and updated versions of fa'apapa, and my mother is right, the modern stuff is easier on the palate. But I still think the old-fashioned fa'apapa is better for fa'ausi, which in truth, was the whole reason I was trying to make fa'apapa anyway. Feel free to try either version. They both taste good, but only the original fa'apapa can prevent mugging.

Old-school Fa'apapa (makes 2)
2 cups(250g) flour
⅓ cup (65g) sugar
1⅓ cup (120g) unsweetened coconutflakes
½ can (200ml) coconut milk

Puteverything together in a bowl and mix well with your hands. Divide into twoequal portions. Generously grease some baking paper with butter. Flatten eachportion of dough into a slab no bigger than 1 inch/2.5 thick. Wrap each portiontightly in the baking paper. Bake at 390°F/200ºC for 35-40 minutes or untilcrust is well-browned.

If you get a chance, check out this video of fa'apapa straight from the umu!
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Oka I'a Video

2011-02-07T01:04:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

I really appreciate every email or comment I get, especially from people who have tried the recipes on this blog. Vali from Hawai'i wrote that her and her sister made keke pua'a and panipopo all in one weekend! She even sent photos which had me salivating at the computer. Check out Vali's baking:

She writes:
It was an amazing weekend of fun, baking,
bonding and great memories created.
Vali, you made me miss all those times I cooked with my sisters.

Thank you for sharing.

And thank you to all you readers that support and encourage this blog.

Here is the video for making oka i 'a. Enjoy!

http://panipopos.blogspot.com/

Oka I'a - Fish Salad

2011-01-29T11:10:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

Fijian 'kokoda', Tahitian 'poisson cru', and Hawaiian 'poke' are all delicious variations of the same dish. The Samoan version is oka i'a.

Everything about this dish is according to personal taste, so you'd be hard-pressed to find two people that make it exactly the same.

However, three elements are common across all recipes. Firstly, you need fresh seafood, emphasis on FRESH. How fresh? Well, preferably the specimen you use was swimming in the ocean the same morning of the day you're going to cook. Frozen, canned or any other kind of preserved seafood will just not work for this recipe.

Secondly, you need citrus juice, the acid that flavours and 'cooks' the fish. Samoans commonly use lime or lemon juice. (In South American ceviche, some people use bitter orange, so if you're feeling creative or want to get in touch with your South American side, why not give it a go?) The third element of oka i'a is a selection of vegetables or even just one. If you simply add onions and nothing else, that's still oka.

What follows is a basic recipe, but I encourage you to make it your own. Don't limit yourself to fish. Try fresh mussels, scallops or crabmeat. Add whatever vegetables you like, although crisp and crunchy veges like celery and cucumber provide a nice contrast to the fish. My sister O likes to add a finely minced hot chili pepper for a bit of kick. Some people like to add fresh herbs, cilantro or parsley, and I've also seen oka with lemon slices floating in it. If you have any suggestions for how you put your own twist on oka i'a, I'd love to hear them.

Oka I'a (serves 4)

1 pound (500g) fresh tuna or snapper
½ cup (120ml) lemon or lime juice
¼ onion
2 spring onions
2 medium tomatoes
1 large or 2 small cucumbers
1 cup (240ml) coconut milk
salt to taste

Cut your fish into medium dice. Cover with lemon or lime juice and set aside for 1 minute to an hour. Yes, you read that right - 1 minute. My mother doesn't even marinate the fish in the lemon juice, just throws everything together. So it's completely up to you how raw you want your fish. The longer you leave the fish in the citrus acid, the more it's 'cooked' and the texture will be firmer than soft, raw fish. But you will also lose some of the clean, fresh flavour of newly-caught fish.

I marinate the fish for as long as it takes me cut up the vegetables. So this is the next step. Finely dice your onion, slice the spring onion, dice your tomatoes and chop up your cucumber. Everything should be bite-size or smaller.

Drain your fish and discard the lemon or lime juice. Add the vegetables and coconut milk to the fish. Mix well, then season with salt to taste. Refrigerate for at least half an hour to allow the flavours to blend and develop.

Don't worry if your oka looks thick, like it doesn't have much juice. As the oka sits in the refrigerator, liquid from the vegetables will seep out and mix with the coconut milk, and your salad will be juicy in no time.

Serve as an appetizer or side dish.

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Puligi Video

2011-01-13T11:22:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

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Puligi - Pudding

2011-01-08T23:33:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

Following the tradition of English steamed puddings, Samoan puligi is a unique combination of coconut caramel and traditional holiday spices. It's texture is soft and springy and the crumb is moist.

Eaten plain or with butter, puligi is delicious.
Served with hot, steaming custard, it is divine.

When I was growing up, puligi was a real treat. Firstly, there were not many people who had the time to make it. Traditionally steamed, a large puligi could take up to four hours from start to finish. In addition, the puligi ingredients were not in everyone's cupboards in those days. Heavens knows how cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves ended up on the islands (I'm guessing, missionaries?), but looking over the ingredient list, nothing is native to Samoa except for coconut milk. These days, even though steamed puligi is still ideal, some people bake puligi to save time. As for the ingredients, well, if they're not already in your cupboards, they can be found in any local supermarket.

The puligi is done when you test the centre of it with a wooden skewer and the skewer comes out clean. Gently loosen the sides of the puligi with a knife, and turn it out immediately onto a wire rack to cool, with the right side up to prevent cracking.

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Coconut cake

2010-12-18T13:59:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

I wish this dense, subtely-flavoured coconut cake was a real Samoan recipe. But it's not. Still, anything that uses leftover coconut milk, and is easy to make deserves to be in the "Samoan-inspired" file.

Coconut Cake
makes an 8 inch (20cm) square cake or 9 inch (22cm) round cake
2 eggs
⅔ cup (160g) coconut milk (divided)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon coconut essence (optional)
1¾ cup (200g) flour
1 cup (200g) sugar
2½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

1 stick (100g) butter, very soft but not melted

Line your baking tin with parchment/baking paper and preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).

Whisk the eggs, a third (50g) of the coconut milk, and the essences together.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into another bowl and mix together. Add the butter and the rest of the coconut milk.

With an electric beater, mix on the lowest setting until you can't see any more dry ingredients. Then turn your mixer on high and beat for 3 minutes. The mixture will be very thick, so scrape down occassionally with a spatula.

Take your egg mixture and add it in three parts to the flour mixture, beating on high for 1 minute after each addition.
After all the ingredients are added, your cake batter should be creamy and light, but thick.

Pour the batter into your lined cake tin.

Spread to fill the corners and smooth the surface with a spatula.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Dry crumbs on the skewer are fine. What you don't want is wet batter.

Leave the cake in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning it out. Although the baked cake comes out pretty well-risen, it will shrink on cooling.

Peel off the paper and leave to cool.

Serve plain or with a dusting of powdered sugar.

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Paifala - Samoan half-moon pies (modern recipe)

2010-12-13T21:51:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

A couple of months ago, I made paifala using a traditional recipe with coconut milk and cornstarch. Here are some delicious paifala from a fellow blogger, Lotus, at Whymsicallotus, that also used that recipe. When I made it, I noticed that quite some filling leaks out during baking, and the crust on that paifala is very much like Masi Samoa.

So this is Paifala II - with a shortcrust pastry, a custard filling and without coconut milk. It's flavour is not better or worse than the traditional recipe, just different. In terms of structure, however, this modern take on paifala has minimal leakage and the crust can hold even more filling than the traditional recipe.

Paifala (makes 5)
Filling
1 cup (240ml) milk
4 tablespoons custard powder
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 cups (500g) crushed pineapple, drained
½ cup (100g) sugar*
½ teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

* If you have a sweet tooth, increase to 3/4 cup (150g) sugar.

Put the custard powder, milk, vanilla essence and sugar in a saucepan and mix until smooth. Put this over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens. Finally, turn the heat off and add your pineapple and nutmeg (if using). Mix until well-combined, then set aside to cool to room temperature.

Crust

3½ cups (400g) flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
⅓ cup (70g) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
4 tablespoons (60ml) milk
¾ cup (150g) butter, room temperature

Sift the flour and baking powder and salt into a bowl. Mix together. Then add the rest of the crust ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until everything just comes together.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead together into a smooth ball. Try not to handle the dough too much because you don't want to melt the butter. Also, don't add too much flour, or you'll get a tough dough. If you find the dough is too sticky to handle, then refrigerate for half an hour, and try working with it again.

Assembling the paifala
Cut your dough into 5 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into an 8” (20cm) circle. Put some of your cooled pineapple filling into the centre. Lightly wet the edges of the piecrust with water, and then fold one half of the pie over the other. Press the edges together with a fork. See the paifala video if you want visuals.

Pierce the top of the pie several times (steam vents) then bake at 350°F (180°C) for 25-30 minutes until light golden. Remove from the oven and cool. Be careful not to overbake these or the crust will be too crumbly.

My pie was stuffed till crammed with filling, but this is the only leak I had:

In the big picture, this leak was next to nothing.

Enjoy warm or cold, with a hot drink.

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Kale moa video

2010-12-09T13:13:00.001+09:00

By panipopos

There are several ways you can adjust the kale moa recipe:
* As written in the last post, you can substitute up to half the liquid with coconut milk for a very rich kale.
* You can also substitute the water for chicken broth or vegetable broth.
* Season with worcestershire sauce or soy sauce.
* Add tomatoes or tomato paste - tomato is a very nice base for kale.
* Add turmeric with the curry powder for yellower curry.

* Add garam masala at the end of cooking for deeper flavour.

http://panipopos.blogspot.com

Kale Moa - Samoan Chicken Curry

2010-12-05T13:26:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

I had an email request for kale mamoe (lamb curry) but unfortunately, I can't get mamoe (lamb) here where I am. But since that email (all of five days ago), I've had kale (curry) on the brain.

One might ask, that with such a wide range of curries available the world over, what's so special about Samoan curry? Because it's not an overtly spicy dish, nor does it incorporate any unique Samoan ingredients. I mean, really, kale just wouldn't make the grade in a "Best International Curry" competition.

The truth is, kale is special because it's taste is so unspecial. That is, it's a mild dish, so no "Fire in the Hole!" warnings needed. It's non-intrusive, so it blends in well with other Samoan dishes, such as sapasui and fa'alifu. And it's undistinctive taste lends itself well to practically any meat or vege combo your heart desires.

Don't get me wrong. I think kale is absolutely delicious, but if you start telling people that's it's "curry" then they have these preconceived notions of what it should taste like. Spicy, piquant, exotic, aromatic, tangy...and Samoan kale is none of those things.

Think of it more like a light curry-flavoured sauce, a kind of mildly spiced gravy, or a masala-laced stew.

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Mika's Coconut Fish

2010-11-29T21:53:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

So far on this blog I've done a lot of traditional stuff. Today we're doing something slightly different, just to mix things up. This recipe falls under the heading of 'Samoan-inspired' (see up there, in the title of my blog?). So I didn't grow up eating this, nor do I know anyone else that regularly does. But it comes from a chef working in the islands, so I thought I'd give it a go.

You can find the original recipe here, but as there are few measurements, I'll specify what I used.

Start off with an egg with a tablespoon of milk.

Beat them together and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

In another dish, combine half a cup of breadcrumbs and a tablespoon or two of shredded coconut.

Take your fish fillets (I used flounder/flatfish) and dip them in the egg mixture, then the breadcrumb mixture.

By the way, I used panko, but regular breadcrumbs would be just as good.

Melt two tablespoons of butter over low/medium heat, then gently fry your fish until golden brown.

While the fish is cooking, put half a cup of crushed pineapple with syrup, half a cup of coconut milk, and two tablespoons of honey in a saucepan. Cook this over medium heat until it thickens.

Once the fish is cooked, pour your thickened sauce over it and serve.

To be honest, the sauce was a little sweet for my tastes. The colour was not the most appetising either - grey from the coconut milk with yellow pineapple.

However, the fish was divine - succulent and tender, with a nice crunchy crust. Next time I would just skip the sauce altogether and make a nice gravy or simple white sauce.

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Panikeke Lapotopoto Video

2010-11-19T09:43:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

They sell panikeke lapotopoto at the fresh food market in Apia. They're made fresh every day, and are popular with schoolkids and tourists.

One of Samoa's top kitchen talents, Chef Michael Meredith, grew up watching his mother make panikeke for her stall in the Apia markets. From those humble beginnings he has since won numerous cooking awards and scholarships, studied at the CIA (the Culinary Institute, guys, not the Intelligence Agency) and he has recently opened his own high-class restaurant, Merediths.

The moral is: if you watch someone make panikeke, you will have great success in life.

Panikeke power.

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Panikeke Lapotopoto - Round Pancakes

2010-11-17T21:50:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

Samoans make two kinds of pancakes - flat round ones and round round ones. Both recipes are so simple that they are unwritten and measured by the eye. Both use ingredients that are probably already in your pantry, and both can be mixed and ready to eat within half an hour.

My favourite are the panikeke lapotopoto - the round round ones - which commonly come in two flavours: plain and banana. Though I've also had them with pineapple and even raisins too.

Now, you shouldn't think that panikeke are exclusively Samoan, because Tongans make them, as well as Fijians. Heck, even the Okinawans have something similar.

Interestingly, some people squeeze the dough out from their fists, a sort of human pastry bag, if you will. They claim that the fried product is rounder and better shaped than those that enter the frier via spoon.

I reckon it's just a clever way to make sure the cook doesn't pop every third panikeke into their mouth. Think about it. If one hand is squeezing the dough in, and the other hand is taking the cooked panikeke out (with a utensil, obviously), then there are no idle hands to stuff your face with.

So the following recipe makes a baker's dozen, that's 13 pieces. But don't count how many are in the photo ok? Because it's the cook's right, even their duty, to eat a panikeke or two. How else will we know if the oil is hot enough?

Panikeke (makes 12, shhh)
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
water
oil for frying

Heat up your oil over medium heat, then as soon as it starts to get shimmery, turn the heat down low. If you have anything as fancy as a thermometre in your kitchen, heat the oil to somewhere between 320°F and 356°F (160°C to 180°C).

You don't have to wait for your oil to get to temperature before mixing your batter. It'll take you less than five minutes, so go ahead and sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add the egg and milk, then mix everything up with enough water to form a thick batter. You know, I want to call this a batter because we're making pancakes, but it's actually more like a wet dough. See the video if you're not sure what consistency it should be.

Fry tablespoonfuls in the oil for 3-5 minutes until they're dark golden brown. If your oil is too high, the panikeke will be uncooked on the inside. If your oil is too low you'll have greasy panikeke. So every couple of batches, break one open to make sure it's cooked through, and eat it if you really must.

Eat hot or cold, though these usually don't get a chance to cool down before they're snatched up.

* You can substitute self-raising flour for the flour and baking powder.

* This recipe can be, and probably should be, doubled, tripled, quadrupled. Just make sure you don’t add too much liquid.

* Add a dash of vanilla to the mix if you like.

* Feel free to squeeze the panikeke from your hands, but two spoons work just as well. If you mixed a good dough, and the oil is the right temperature, then the panikeke will round themselves out, no matter what shape you drop in the oil. And if your panikeke have little 'horns' on them, well man, grab those horns! They´re crunchy and delicious!

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Laumoli Lautipolo - Citrus leaves

2010-11-15T19:07:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

lau = leaf
moli = orange
tipolo/kipolo = lemon

Samoans are one of the few populations to use citrus leaves in the kitchen. I mean, lots of people drink tea made from lemon leaves, but not many use the leaves to actually cook with. The Thai people famously use kaffir lime leaves in their curries and the Vietnamese fry lemon leaves up with grubs. And a few Mediterranean populations use citrus leaves for wrapping food and in marinades.

Well, Samoans don't use citrus leaves for curry. And although I've heard of people eating coconut grubs, I don't know many Samoans that do. We don't wrap food in citrus leaves either. Are you kidding? We have taro and banana leaves for that. They hold waaaay more food.

What we do use orange or lemon leaves for is very simple - to impart a subtle citrus fragrance to sweet dishes such as koko araisa (cocoa rice) and sua araisa (milky rice).

Take your orange or lemon leaf from a tree that hasn't been treated with chemicals. You want to choose leaves that are dark green, not the young lighter coloured ones, because the darker, more mature leaves have got more citrus oils (eg. flavour) in them. Throw your leaf in the simmering dish, but like a bayleaf, it's not to be eaten. The leaf will leave a hint of orange or lemon flavour, but the dish won't be overwhelmed by it.

If you can't get your hands on fresh citrus leaves, then try substituting with the fruit zest or essence. But citrus leaves are never an essential ingredient, so you can always leave them out. For instance, I like lautipolo in sua araisa, but not in koko araisa. It's just a matter of taste.

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Koko Araisa video

2010-11-11T22:07:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

As soon as you add Koko Samoa to boiling water, a chocolatier-than-chocolate smell fills the room. It's a smell that takes you back home to when you were a little kid lapping up your bowl of koko araisa, and running back to the kitchen for more. It's a warm smell, reminiscent of cosy family nights in, or weekend breakfasts, or afternoon tea at church. Even the smell of cold koko araisa brings back memories of after school snacks, leftovers at a cousins house, or just those times when I would sneak in a cup before everyone else woke up. You know what Koko Samoa smells like? It smells like home.

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Koko Araisa - Cocoa rice

2010-11-10T17:49:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

Koko = Samoan cocoa
Araisa/Alaisa = Rice

Most Samoan kids grow up eating this. It's a treat for breakfast or any time of the day. You can eat this hot or cold, out of a bowl or a mug, lightened with coconut milk or cow's milk - the ingredients are completely variable according to taste.

* You can use any white rice - long, medium or short-grain - but the consistency will vary per rice type. Long-grain will give you clearly separated grains that sink to the bottom of the bowl. Short-grain produces the thickest consistency, like chocolate rice pudding.

* Laumoli is a leaf from an orange tree. Just pick the leaf, rinse it under water and throw it whole in the pot. I guess you could substitute grated orange rind or orange essence.

By the way, the laumoli is just for flavour. Don't eat it.

* There are no hard and fast rules about when to add the Koko Samoa. My mother throws in a whole lump of koko at the beginning and by the time the rice is cooked, the koko is softened and distributed evenly throughout the pan. You can also cook the rice up first with the water, then add the koko near the end. The important thing is to give the koko time in the hot water to release it's flavours and oils and yummy goodness.

If you don't have Koko Samoa, you can substitute any high-quality unsweetened cocoa powder.

* In place of the coconut milk, you can use normal milk.

* And finally, don't judge me ok? But koko araisa tastes really good with thick slices of generously buttered white bread.

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From the blogging world

2010-11-04T23:00:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

I was surfing the net looking for photos from Samoa of koko, and came across Elizabeth's blog. She has kindly allowed me to use her photos, taken in Samoa, of koko beans being roasted and pounded the traditional way. Here you can see the beans being sorted. The burnt ones are no good.

The beans are shelled.

Then they're pounded by a happy person.

You can find more photos from Elizabeth's time in Samoa on her blog Dispatches from the South Seas.

Also check out La Cocinera Loca and their delicious panipopo. The buns look so scrumptious, they inspired me to make two batches for the weekend. I love seeing photos of how other people are making Samoan food. Just gotta be careful not to drool all over the keyboard. The cool thing here is that this blogger has translated our panipopo recipe into French(!), so now even more people can enjoy the wonderfulness that is Samoan cuisine.

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Koko Samoa video

2010-10-31T22:53:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

You know, I'm not sure why Koko Samoa isn't sold in grated or chipped form. I'm also not sure why Samoa doesn't market it's own chocolate made from Koko. Do you reckon anyone has ever tried to smuggle drugs in the middle of a koko block? And who first had the brilliant idea of using disposable cups for koko molds?

Things that make you go "hmmm" when you're sipping your koko...

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Koko Samoa - Samoan cocoa recipe

2010-10-30T23:57:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

I believe that Koko Samoa is a comfort drink to Samoans around the world. The smell of the koko while it's simmering away is almost as good as the koko itself, and for me, it brings on many a memory of nights spent chatting with family after being separated the whole day. It's a beverage that you sip slowly while enjoying the warmth of your home, or while spending time with friends. Koko Samoa creates a feeling of togetherness with your drinking companions, a sense of unity because you all appreciate this unique Samoan drink, and even more so, because you are all mannered enough to respect the unspoken rule: Do not stare too long or look too closely at the pegu (grinds) stuck in each other's gums.

Koko Samoa (makes 2 cups)
2 cups (500ml) water
4 tablespoons (24g) Koko Samoa, grated
4 tablespoons (60g) sugar

Bring your water to the boil, then add the Koko. Turn the heat down and simmer for 10-15 minutes to release the cocoa oils and flavour from the nibs. Turn off the heat, and sweeten with the sugar. Pour or ladle into drinking mugs.

Serve hot, always hot. If you let Koko Samoa cool down, you'll be drinking little balls of solidified koko fat.

You can also add milk if desired.

Note on drinking Koko Samoa: Samoans enjoy the pegu (grinds) that you get with every mouthful of drink. Some even strain the drink through their teeth, hoping to have a nice collection of pegu they can chew on at the end (or maybe I'm the only one who does that!). Pegu have the texture of peanuts, but the taste of roasted cacao beans, and I think they're delicious. However, if you are averse to chewing on these, go ahead and strain your koko before drinking it. But then sadly, you will miss out on one of the joys of the experience.

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Koko Samoa - Samoan cocoa

2010-10-28T15:23:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

It's here! It's here!

My koko Samoa is finally HERE!

Thanks to my beautiful sister, D, I have two quality blocks of koko samoa standing on my kitchen table. I mean REAL Samoan koko! On my kitchen table. I feel like throwing a party because I haven't had Samoan koko since...I can't even remember the last time, and now it's right HERE.
On. My. Kitchen. Table.

Those who have never tasted it are probably asking "What's the big deal about koko samoa?".

Well, you will only appreciate my answer if you are a chocoholic, or a coffeeholic. Because koko samoa is the best that both these beverages have to offer.

Koko samoa is made from Samoan cocoa beans, considered a premium cacao bean because there is no trace of bitterness in it's products. This makes it ideal for drinking.

But koko samoa is the kind of drink that you either love or hate. You'd love it because of it's deep chocolatey aroma and flavour. You'd love it because it packs one hell of a caffeine kick. You'd love it if you grew up with it because it's a smell and taste that is unique to Samoa and Samoans. On the other hand, you'd hate it if you didn't like chewing on grinds while you drink. You'd hate it if you drank it as a kid, then forgot to brush your teeth before you went to school, and then spent the day grinning and laughing your head off before realising you had all the grinds stuck in your teeth. And you'd probably hate it if you were the one that was always stuck pounding the beans.

Nevetherless, koko samoa is truly an original, local product. Samoans pick their own beans, roast them, pound them and then leave the grinds to dry into hardened blocks. Whenever the desire for koko samoa comes up, part of the block is chipped off or grated and then mixed with boiling water and sugar for a hot, satisfying drink.

Koko samoa is so integral to Samoan life, that the cocoa plant is protected by law. The Cocoa Disease Ordinance of 1961 makes it illegal to bring any cocoa plant or seeds into Samoa that might carry pests that threaten the locally grown trees. (After blight almost wiped out the country's taro industry, I bet they're taking this one seriously.)

When I finally stop sniffing my blocks of koko and put them down, I'll take photos and start cooking with them, because this, my friends, just took our blog to a whole other level.

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Taro

2010-10-27T23:20:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

The Irish are potato people. The Italians are pasta people. We Samoans, we're taro people.

Taro is one of the world's oldest cultivated crops, and Samoans eat it both in everyday meals and for larger feasts. Taro has a fibrous brown skin, but inside it has pink, white or purplish flesh. When it's cooked, it is invariably purplish-grey. Taro has a starchy texture, kind of gluey, when cooked.

And don't even think about eating it raw. It contains oxalic acid which can irritate your throat and mouth, and some people are so sensitive to oxalic acid that their hands get all itchy just touching taro. If you're one of these people, simply rub some oil on your hands when handling it, and this should help keep the taro rash away. In any case, oxalic acid is not deadly, just unpleasant.

So make sure you cook your taro thoroughly. Samoans commonly boil or roast/bake taro, and a few people (vendors mainly) fry them into chips. But it's a versatile root and if you want to get creative, you can steam it, ground it into a flour, or pound it into Hawaiian poi. The great thing about taro is that it holds it's texture and shape when cooked, and blends in well with other savoury flavours.

Health-wise, taro is highly nutritious and is perfect for people with digestive problems. It's got more protein, calcium and phosphorous than a potato, and is rich with vitamins B, C and E. It is so digestible that these days taro flour is often used in mass-produced infant foods, which is something Samoans have been doing for yonks already. Back in the day, Samoan women would chew on cooked taro to make little balls of food which they placed along the back of their hand. Then they'd feed these taro balls to their babies - the perfect first food!

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Fa'alifu Video

2010-10-21T19:03:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

Some of the people reading my blog are non-Samoans who want to give their Samoan spouse a taste from home. This fa'alifu post is for you. It's fast, easy, and guaranteed to please. I can imagine that in a Samoan Cooking 101 Course, this would be the first lesson. Fa'alifu is not something we eat every day, but on the days it's eaten, we are very happy peoples.

I've shown a couple of ways to make fa'alifu, but if anyone out there knows a different way to make it (and this goes for all my recipes), feel free to share.

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Fa'alifu - Savoury coconut sauce

2010-10-18T19:48:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

It’s back to basics this week, with something that’s not so much a recipe as it is a technique. This is a standard Samoan sauce for dressing up any starchy root crop or staple fruit.

If you’re new to Samoan cooking, this is a good place to start, because even if you overcook your taro (or whatever it is you happen to be making), even if you boil the sauce a bit too long, or not long enough, even if you add too few or too many onions, this forgiving sauce will still taste good. The only two ways you can stuff this up is if you add too much salt to the coconut milk (which is something you’ll know before you add it to your roots), or if you burn the roots and the sauce to the bottom of your saucepan.

Below are the most common foods that we fa’alifu:

Starchy root crops
Taro
Ta’amu
Yams
Sweet Potatoes
Potatoes
Cassava

Staple fruit
Ulu (breadfruit)
Fa’i mata (green bananas)

Prepare your roots/fruit for cooking as usual – peel, wash, cut if desired.

Place in a saucepan, cover with water and heat until boiling. Then simmer until fork-tender.

Fa’alifu
1 medium onion
1 can (400ml) coconut milk
½ - 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)

1. If you like a very thin coating of coconut sauce, first season the coconut milk with salt. After draining your roots/fruit, simply pour on the coconut sauce.

2. If you want your roots/fruit partially cooked in the coconut sauce, then while the roots/fruit are boiling, chop up the onion– sliced, diced, fine or chunky – whatever floats your boat. Just remember, the bigger your onion pieces, the longer they will take to cook. Put the coconut milk in a bowl with the onions and salt, and mix. Cook the roots/fruit until they are almost cooked but still firm (because they’ve got another couple of minutes cooking). Drain them but leave them in the saucepan. Pour the coconut mixture over the roots/fruit and boil this for 5 minutes or until the onions are cooked. Be careful not to overcook your roots/fruit.

3. If you prefer to cook your sauce separately, then cook the roots/fruit until they are done. Drain them and then set aside and cover with foil. Mix the coconut, onions and salt in the saucepan and simmer this over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until the onions are cooked. Pour the hot sauce over the roots/fruit being sure to cover each piece generously.

4. Some people like a really thick coconut sauce. You can achieve this by using just the cream that collects at the top of the can of coconut milk (discarding the watery milk) to make your sauce. Or you can cook the sauce as in 3. above, then when you have the sauce simmering, add ⅓ cup (80ml) water mixed with 2 teaspoons of flour. Simmer while stirring until the onions and flour are cooked. Pour this over your roots/fruit.

5. If you’re a total coconut addict, and like your roots/fruit completely drenched and infused with coconut flavour, then just cook them from beginning to end in equal parts water/coconut milk seasoned with salt to taste. But remember to give a health advisory warning to anyone you serve it to.

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Paifala video

2010-09-30T23:02:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

This is the last sweet recipe I'm going to make for a while.

My dentist demands it. My doctor demands it. My scales demand it.

So, till next month ;).

http://panipopos.blogspot.com

Paifala – Samoan half-moon pies (traditional recipe)

2010-09-30T00:12:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

I’ve done something a little different this time. I’ve made someone else’s recipe.

You see, back in my pre-blogging days, whenever I googled “paifala recipe”, this one recipe would show up 95% of the time. (And Google would also ask me if I meant to search for “paella recipe”. The nerve!)

Since this recipe is out there in Googleland as the recipe for paifala, I was intrigued and had to try it out. Now this is not, I repeat, this is NOT my recipe. Paifala at my house were pineapple-custard stuffed confections enrobed in a buttery, smooth shortcrust pastry. No, this is definitely not that recipe.

This recipe uses cornstarch instead of custard, and the piecrust is similar to masi samoa. The pastry is much nuttier and fragrant than the paifala I’m used to, and the filling is just as good as custard. The ingredients are so simple and unpretentious, and the taste is – what’s the word I’m looking for – honest. That’s why I’m labelling this a ‘traditional’ recipe. No yellow food colouring to be found here folks!

So really, whose recipe is this?

Why, it’s Lily Dayton’s.

Who?

Here, check it out for yourself. I think she finally deserves credit for her much-plagarised recipe.

Unless she got it off Google herself. LOL.

JK. Much respect for Ms Dayton and her paifala.

I’ve made slight changes (5 cups of flour was a tad bit too much for me and her baking time was too short), but otherwise, this is a solid recipe. So here it is, good ole’ honest island-style paifala.

Paifala (makes 5)

adapted from Lily Dayton's recipe

Filling:

2 cups drained crushed pineapple

1 cup (200g) sugar

½ cup (120ml) milk

⅓ cup (30g) cornstarch

⅓ cup (80ml) syrup from crushed pineapple

Piecrust:

3 cups (375g) flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

⅓ cup (75g) butter

1 cup (240ml) coconut milk

pinch salt

Make the filling ahead and give it ample time to cool to room temperature. Simply mix the pineapple, sugar and milk in a saucepan and heat until simmering. Dilute the cornstarch with the pineapple juice and add this to the pineapple mixture. Stir it over low heat for 1-2 minutes until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and cool.

For the piecrust, throw everything in a bowl and mix. When it starts to come together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and press it together. Don’t knead this dough or it’ll be chewy and tough.

Cut your dough into 5 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into an 8” (20cm) circle. Put some of your cooled pineapple filling into the centre. But pay attention to how much you put in - too much and the pie will burst in the oven, too little and people will complain. The recipe above makes just enough for five pies.

Lightly wet the edges of the piecrust with water, and then fold one half of the pie over the other. Press the edges together with your fingers or, if you wanna be fancy, with a fork. Pierce the top of the pie several times then bake at 375°F (190°C) for 35-40 minutes until light golden. Remove from the oven and cool.

Big half-moon pies are usually served in thick strips, but since these are only 8” wide, I reckon you could give a hungry Samoan a whole one. Or two.

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Keke pua'a video

2010-09-20T22:38:00.000+09:00

So I've been seriously procrastinating with this video because everytime I sat down at the computer, the last thing I felt like doing was a video edit. I found every excuse in the book to put it off. Gotta check my emails. Gotta order some stuff online. Gotta check my Visa balance to see if I can afford to order stuff online. Gotta see what's going on with those trapped miners in Chile. 47 days and no end in sight! No way! Hey, I wonder if anyone is on Skype? Gotta check out the current exchange rate. Ooh, and maybe I'll just see how much airfares are to Tahiti.

I admit, it's embarrassing how much of my adult life has been wasted surfing this never-ending playground called the internet.

But you know what finally lit a fire under my butt to get this video done? It was this comment on Youtube. It was posted under my suafa'i vid because, due to aforementioned procrastination, my keke pua'a one hadn't been posted. Aufdieinsel wrote:

i couldn't wait for you to put your keke puaa video up. so i just went ahead with the one on your blog and tried it. HEAVEN! your dough for some reason is better than the chinatown one. it's more bready???? lol. we've had it for 2 days now and my flatmates are all "kay kay" puaa'ed out! thanks for sharing!!!!!!

Now is that cool or WHAT?!?!
Like someone actually cares about what I do on my blog!
Like someone actually tried a recipe that was here!
And it worked!!!
YIPPEE!

So thanks to aufdieinsel, here, finally, after a week of trying to avoid it, is the video for how to make keke pua'a.

Now the blog can move on!

Keke pua’a – Samoan-style bao

2010-09-16T00:06:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

Bao are Chinese steamed buns with a wide variety of fillings, both savoury and sweet. In Samoa, bao are always filled with meat, usually pork, which is why they are called keke (cake), pua’a (pork).

Yeah, I know it’s not a cake.

Anyhoo, it's not common to make keke pua’a at home, because they are labour-intensive, and they’re relatively cheap to buy. Plus not many of us have a three tiered bamboo steamer at home.

The usual Samoan filling is a basic mixture of pork, onions, maybe garlic and then seasonings like soy sauce. But you could fill your keke with practically anything, leftover sapasui, curry, beef stew - anything you would eat between two slices of bread.

Whatever you decide to put in your buns, make sure your filling is really well-seasoned, a touch over-seasoned, so that one bite of it has enough flavour to carry the soft but bland bread.

Keke pua’a dough (makes 16)

2 Tablespoons dry yeast
¼ cup (60ml) warm water
1 Tablespoon sugar
½ cup (120ml) warm milk
¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup (50g) sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
3½ cups (437.5g) all purpose flour

Mix the yeast, water and first measure of sugar in a large bowl. Let it stand for 5 minutes until it’s frothy.

In the meantime, combine the milk, butter, second lot of sugar, salt and eggs. Add this to the yeast mixture and mix until combined.

Add 3 cups of the flour and gradually mix it together until it forms a dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it’s smooth, about 10 minutes, working in the remaining ½ cup of flour.

Grease the bowl, place the dough back in there, cover and let rise until it’s doubled in size.

While the dough is rising, cut out 16 4” (10cm) square pieces of waxed paper. Set up your steamer. Get your keke filling to room temperature. Anything else? Yeah, while you’re at it, do the dishes.

When your dough has doubled, punch it down then divide into 16 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then roll or press into a 4 inch (10cm) circle, dusting with flour if necessary.

Spoon a generous amount of filling into the centre of each circle, being careful not to get liquid on the edges. (Wet edges are hard to seal.)

Pleat the edges together over the filling and close the top by pinching and twisting the dough together.

Place each bun on a piece of waxed paper, pleated side up if you’re proud of your pleats, or pleated side down if you ~~screwed it up~~ prefer a smooth top surface. Put your buns at least 2 inches (5 cm) apart from each other to rise. Let them rise until doubled in size (about 45 minutes) and then steam them on full steam for 15 minutes.

Alternatively, bake at 375°F (190°C) for 15 minutes or until golden brown. As soon as they come out of the oven, brush the tops with melted butter to keep the surface soft.

Whether baked or steamed, eat immediately, or within a few hours.
And don’t forget to peel away the waxed paper before eating.
No seriously, don’t forget.

http://panipopos.blogspot.com/

Masi Samoa video

2010-09-07T23:19:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

Masi Samoa is really one of the simple pleasures in life. Like eating watermelon with the juices running down your chin. Like bathing in a cool river on a hot day. Like mixing hot white rice, onions and eleni (canned mackarel in tomato sauce) in a big bowl for dinner. OK, masi samoa is nothing like mixing rice, onions and eleni but I'm hungry and that's what I feel like eating.

Here's the vid for making one of the simplest but most gratifying cookies in the world.

Oh, and don't forget to store them in an airtight container so they don't soften.

http://panipopos.blogspot.com/

Masi Samoa – Samoan coconut cookies

2010-09-05T14:56:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

In Samoa, these are usually sold in neatly piled-up stacks which are wrapped in unmarked plastic bags. They look very plain, and on looks alone, you wouldn’t expect much flavour from the masi samoa.

But don't let their bland golden surfaces deceive you.

Just one bite of this buttery, flaky, not-too-sweet, shortbreadish cookie will have you going back for more.

Which is probably why they're sold in stacks and not one by one.

And a word of warning. When masi samoa are baking, the whole house will smell like Willy Wonka's cookie factory (if Willy Wonka had a cookie factory). You cannot hide these from those you live with.

Masi Samoa (makes 24)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a cookie sheet or, for easy clean-up, line a cookie sheet with baking paper.

Beat together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the coconut milk and vanilla and beat some more. Add the flour and baking powder and mix until it forms a dough.

Knead lightly then roll the dough out thinly (less than ¼ inch; 6mm thick) on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 3 x 3” (7.5 x 7.5 cm) squares. Transfer to the cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from oven and cool completely.

These are rich enough that they don’t need any spread, but I know people who like masi samoa with a thin pat of butter and strawberry jam.

Enjoy masi samoa with a piping hot cup of – you guessed it! – kokosamoa (Samoan cocoa).

http://panipopos.blogspot.com/

Alaisa Fa'apopo Video

2010-08-31T16:18:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

Short and sweet, here's how you make "coconuttified" rice!

http://panipopos.blogspot.com/

Alaisa fa’apopo – Coconut rice

2010-08-29T20:39:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

If you ever have leftover rice, and you can’t make fried rice (like me), this simple Samoan recipe is a nice way to give it new life. I use the term “Samoan recipe” loosely though because wherever there are coconuts, there is a version of this dish. Thailand, India, the Carribbean - they even eat this in East Africa! There it’s known as wali wa nazi (wali = rice, nazi – coconut). Ours is called alaisa (= rice) fa’apopo (= coconuttified).

OK, I’m no linguist.

I’ll just stick to cooking.

Alaisa fa’apopo (serves 4)

2 cups (400-450g*) long-grain rice

water to wash the rice

2 cups (480ml) water
1 cup (240ml) coconut milk
½ - 1 tsp salt

* Weight varies depending on type of rice.

Wash the rice well. Put the rice and measured water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Once it boils, turn the heat down as low as it’ll go, and leave to cook, tightly covered, for about 20 minutes until the rice is has absorbed all the water and the grains are cooked through. Turn off the heat. Add the coconut milk and salt to the cooked rice and combine well. Leave for about 10 minutes for the rice to absorb some coconutty flavour.

If you’re using leftover rice, omit the water. Simply mix the coconut milk with the salt in a saucepan, then add the rice. Cook over gentle heat until the rice is heated through, stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

In Samoan cuisine, this is not a side-dish, more like a savoury snack.

Wash it down with a hot cup of kokosamoa (Samoan cocoa), or a strong cup of coffee.

And the chopsticks are for display purposes only. Samoans eat this with a spoon.

http://www.samoafood.com

Suafa'i recipe video

2010-08-25T19:35:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

I've eaten way more suafa'i than is good for me, but the stuff is really addictive! Don't let the appearance of this dish put you off. If you could smell it while it was cooking, you'd think I was making some kind of banana coconut pudding, and that wouldn't be far from the delicious truth.

If you happen to try this and you don't like it, then I'll refund you the cost of your rotten bananas. Deal?

http://panipopos.blogspot.com/

Suafa’i – Banana soup

2010-08-23T21:39:00.000+09:00

By panipopos

This Samoan dish wouldn’t win any beauty contests. In fact, as a child, I used to think that suafa’i looked like brain matter, but that didn’t stop me from going back for seconds and thirds.

Suafa’I is a dessert/breakfast soup which can be eaten hot or cold. Versions of this soup can be found across Southeast Asia, but as far as I know, Samoans are they only ones to boil the heck out of the ripened bananas.

Use bananas that are past their prime and too mushy to eat, preferably covered in black spots, because these are sweeter and softer than perfectly ripe ones.

Tapioca pearls come in different sizes. Use the smaller ones because they cook faster. You can also use sago if tapioca is unavailable.

Suafa’i (serves 6)
8 medium overripe bananas
4 cups (1 litre) water
½ cup (100g) small tapioca pearls
1 cup (240ml) coconut milk
¼ - ½ cup (50-100g) sugar (optional)

Peel the bananas and place in a medium saucepan. You can roughly chop the bananas if you like, but it isn’t necessary as the boiling will soften them to the right consistency.

Add the water and then bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Break the bananas up with a wooden spoon, fork or masher.

Sprinkle the tapioca into the saucepan while stirring. Don’t add the tapioca all at once or it might clump, and keep stirring to separate the pearls and to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.

Add the coconut milk and then simmer over low/medium heat until the tapioca is cooked, about 15 minutes. Stir frequently. You’ll know the pearls are done when they turn translucent (no frogspawn/white eyeballs looking at you).

Finally, taste the suafa’i. Sometimes your bananas will be sweet enough that you don’t need to add any sugar. If you like a little more sweetness, then add sugar to taste.

Remove from the heat, leave for about 30 minutes to cool and then serve in a bowl or cup. You can also cool suafa’i completely, and refrigerate it. Once cooled, serve it as a snack or dessert.

* When the tapioca is mostly done, you can turn off the heat and the tapioca will cook through with the residual heat.
* Don’t leave the tapioca to simmer unchecked or the suafa’i might burn onto the bottom of your saucepan.

http://www.samoafood.com