Chef Makoa
Fāfā (Tahitian Taro Leaves in Coconut Cream)
Tahiti's fāfā cooks young taro leaves down with onion and coconut cream until they turn dark, silky, and rich enough to feed the whole table.
Culinary Explorer
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Fēʻi (Tahitian Roasted Cooking Bananas)
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Tahiti's fēʻi are orange-fleshed mountain bananas, cooked until tender and served like a starch, warm with sea salt, coconut cream, and the quiet sweetness of the high valleys.
Side Dishes
Polynesian, Tahitian
Comfort Food
Celebration
Special Occasion
10 min
Active Time
45 min cook•55 min total
Yield4 to 6 servings
The canoe carried more than people. It carried the food that would become family: kalo and ʻulu, niu, ʻuala, and the many bananas our cousins planted island by island. In Tahiti, one of those relatives is fēʻi, the upright-bunched mountain banana with orange flesh, eaten cooked, never raw, and treated like a starch beside taro and breadfruit.
This is Tahiti's hand, not mine from home, so I cook it open-handed. Back in Hawaiʻi we know maiʻa, bananas, in many old forms. Sāmoa has faʻi, Tonga has siaine, the Cooks have their own banana tables too, but fēʻi belongs especially to the high valleys and older food memory of Tahiti and nearby eastern islands. Same canoe family, different root in the ground.
Roast it slow until the peel darkens and the flesh gives under a spoon, then split it and let the coconut cream shine over the orange flesh. No need make it fancy. Deep food is not fancy. It's not precious. It's food that remembers where it came from, and you meet it with patience.
Fēʻi bananas are an old Tahitian and eastern Polynesian cooking banana group, known for upright fruit bunches, reddish sap, and dense orange flesh that is cooked before eating. Before imported rice and bread became everyday starches, foods like fēʻi, taro, breadfruit, and ʻuala held the table in Tahiti's valleys and districts. The surprising thing for many cooks is that this banana is not a dessert fruit at all; it sits closer to taro and breadfruit, one canoe crop among the deep foods.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
ripe fēʻi bananas
Quantity
6
or firm ripe plantains if fēʻi is unavailable
coconut oil
Quantity
1 tablespoon
softened
sea salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
plus more to taste
thick coconut cream
Quantity
1/2 cup
preferably fresh-pressed
lime (optional)
Quantity
1
cut into wedges
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| ripe fēʻi bananasor firm ripe plantains if fēʻi is unavailable | 6 |
| coconut oilsoftened | 1 tablespoon |
| sea saltplus more to taste | 1/2 teaspoon |
| thick coconut creampreferably fresh-pressed | 1/2 cup |
| lime (optional)cut into wedges | 1 |
Equipment Needed
- •Rimmed roasting pan
- •Banana leaf or parchment liner
- •Small sharp knife for testing tenderness
Instructions
- 1
Heat the oven
Heat the oven to 375F. Line a roasting pan with banana leaf if you have it, or parchment if that's what your kitchen gives you. Eat what you have, yeah? The leaf is beautiful and it gives a little scent, but the patience matters more.
- 2
Oil and salt
Leave the fēʻi in their skins and rub the outside lightly with coconut oil. Set them in the pan and scatter with sea salt. The skins protect the flesh the way an oven leaf protects taro, holding the moisture in while the starch softens.
- 3
Roast until soft
Roast for 40 to 50 minutes, turning once, until the skins are darkened and wrinkled and a small knife slides through with no fight. Fēʻi should not be served raw or half-stubborn. Let the heat take it all the way, until the orange flesh is tender, dense, and sweet like a quiet cousin.
- 4
Rest and split
Let the bananas rest 5 minutes, then split the skins lengthwise and open them gently. The flesh should be deep yellow-orange, glossy at the edges, and soft enough to scoop while still holding its shape. If the center feels chalky, close it back up and roast a little longer.
- 5
Finish with cream
Spoon warm coconut cream over the split fēʻi and add a small pinch of salt. A squeeze of lime is fine if your table wants brightness, but don't bury the banana. Serve it beside roasted fish, pork from the ahimaʻa, or a bowl of taro and breadfruit. Tahiti's food can stand simple.
Chef Tips
- •Fēʻi can be hard to find outside French Polynesia. A firm ripe plantain is the honest stand-in, but say what it is. You're making a Tahitian fēʻi-style side, not pretending the cousin is the same relative.
- •Choose fruit that feels heavy, with skin that has yellow, orange, or dark patches depending on the variety. If it is rock-hard and green, it needs more time or a longer cook.
- •Fresh coconut cream is best when you can press it from mature coconut. A thick canned coconut cream works in a real kitchen on a real weeknight. Keeper, not gatekeeper.
- •Leftovers are good pan-fried the next morning until the cut sides go browned and glossy. We no throw out good food.
Advance Preparation
- •The fēʻi can be roasted a few hours ahead and held covered at room temperature, then warmed gently before serving.
- •Press coconut cream the morning of if making it fresh; it tastes best the same day and can sour if left too long.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 205g)
Calories
395 calories
Total Fat
12 g
Saturated Fat
10 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
2 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
250 mg
Total Carbohydrates
69 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
32 g
Protein
4 g
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