Faiʻai Eleni (Sāmoan Mackerel in Coconut Cream)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •10-inch heavy skillet or 3-quart saucepan with lid
• •Can opener
• •Coconut scraper or sturdy box grater and clean cloth, if squeezing fresh peʻepeʻe

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the starch

   Put your talo, ʻulu, green banana, or rice on first, because the fish cooks fast. The canoe crops are the old backbone of the plate, and the rice is how many island kitchens eat now. Eat what you have. Just make sure something plain and filling is ready to catch the coconut cream.

2. 2

   Open the tins

   Open the mackerel and keep the tomato sauce if your fish came packed that way. If it came in brine, drain it and have the diced tomato ready. Lift out any big bones if you like, but the little soft bones in tinned fish are edible and full of good strength. Break the fish into big pieces, not flakes.

   Tomato-sauce mackerel gives the dish the taste many Sāmoan kitchens know. Brine-packed fish works too, but the tomato helps the coconut cream hold something sweet and sharp.
3. 3

   Soften the onion

   Set a heavy skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat and warm the oil. Add the onion and chile if you're using it, then cook until the onion goes glossy and sweet, about 4 minutes. Don't brown it hard. This food is gentle, and the onion should melt into the sauce, not shout over the fish.

4. 4

   Warm the fish

   Add the mackerel and its tomato sauce, or the drained mackerel with the diced tomato. Fold gently so the fish warms through but stays in big pieces. Let it bubble softly for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the tomato darkens a little and the pan smells like fish, onion, and pantry comfort.

5. 5

   Pour the cream

   Turn the heat low and pour the coconut cream around the fish, not straight down hard on top of it. Simmer gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until the sauce turns pale orange, thickens slightly, and takes on a glossy coconut sheen. Keep the heat quiet. A hard boil can split the cream and break the fish.

   If the coconut cream starts to separate, turn the heat down, add a spoonful of water or a little more cream, and fold slowly. No blame the coconut. The fire was too loud.
6. 6

   Taste and share

   Taste before you salt, because the tins already carry plenty. Add black pepper, a pinch of sea salt if it needs it, and green onion if you're using it. Spoon the faiʻai eleni over talo, ʻulu, green banana, or rice while the sauce is glossy and loose. Put it in the middle of the table. This is weeknight food, so let it feed like weeknight food.

Chef Tips

• •Eat what you have. Tomato-sauce tins, brine tins, one onion, half an onion, fresh peʻepeʻe, canned coconut cream, it all feeds somebody. The point is not to make pantry food precious. The point is to feed the ʻaiga well.
• •Fresh peʻepeʻe carries the soul of the western islands' food, and if you can squeeze it from grated mature coconut, do it. A thick can does the Tuesday-night job. Stir it smooth before it hits the pan.
• •Keep the sauce at a lazy simmer. Coconut cream doesn't like being bullied, and tinned fish falls apart if you stir like you're angry at it.
• •Serve it with talo or ʻulu when you have them. Serve it with rice when that's what is in the pot. Deep food and everyday food sit at the same table in Sāmoa now.
• •Leftovers keep 2 days in the fridge. Rewarm gently with a spoonful of water or coconut cream, and don't boil it hard the second time either.

Advance Preparation

• •Slice the onion and green onion up to a day ahead and keep them covered in the fridge.
• •Squeeze fresh coconut cream the day you cook if you can. It can be held cold for several hours, then stirred back together before using.
• •This dish is best cooked close to the meal because the fish is already tender. If you need to make it ahead, stop before adding green onion and rewarm low and slow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 310g)