Chef Makoa
ʻOta ʻIka (Tongan Raw Fish in Coconut and Lime)
Tonga's ʻota ʻika is fresh reef fish just turned in lime, folded with lolo, coconut cream, tomato, cucumber, and onion, then served while the fish still tastes like the sea.
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Chef Makoa
Heʻe Poke (Hawaiian Octopus Poke)
Tender heʻe sliced thin and tossed with limu, ʻinamona, sweet onion, sesame oil, and paʻakai. This is Hawaiian poke, the tako bowl beside the ʻahi everyone knows.
Chef Makoa
Poisson Cru (Tahitian ʻIa Ota, Raw Fish in Coconut and Lime)
Raw ʻahi turned just enough in lime, bathed in fresh coconut milk, and run through with cucumber and tomato. Tahiti calls it ʻia ota; poisson cru is the French name sitting beside it.
Chef Makoa
ʻIka Mata (Tuvaluan Atoll Raw Fish in Coconut Cream)
Tuvalu's ʻika mata is the atoll bowl: fresh reef fish, lime, coconut cream, onion, and cucumber, made close to the table where ocean feeds the kāiga.
Chef Makoa
Ika Mata (Cook Islands Raw Fish in Coconut)
The Cook Islands bowl: fresh fish just turned in lime, softened with thick coconut cream, and kept crisp with cucumber, onion, and tomato. Same fish, different bowl.
Chef Makoa
ʻInamona Poke (Hawaiian ʻAhi with Limu)
Hawaiian ʻahi cut clean and tossed with limu, ʻinamona, and paʻakai, the deep poke of home waters. No coconut here. Same fish, different bowl.
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