Chef Makoa
Eke Takare (Cook Islands Curried Octopus)
Rarotonga's reef catch brought home to the pot: tender eke simmered with onion, garlic, turmeric, curry powder, and coconut cream until the sauce turns gold and rich.
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Raro Tarati (Cook Islands Corned Beef Salad in Coconut Cream)
Created by
From a Cook Islands table in Rarotonga: crisp cucumber, tomato, onion, and pisupo corned beef folded under coconut cream, chilled cold, and spooned over rice for the potluck spread.
Salads
Polynesian, Cook Islands
Potluck
Budget Friendly
Make Ahead
20 min
Active Time
0 min cook•50 min total
Yield6 servings
The canoe carried the old foods, taro, breadfruit, coconut, the fish knowledge, but the ship brought the tin. On Cook Islands tables, especially around Rarotonga, Raro tarati, tarati meaning salad, is that later story made home: pisupo, tinned corned beef, loosened with cucumber, tomato, onion, and coconut cream so one can feeds the whole potluck. The old people would look at the pantry, look at the family, and say the same kind of thing my kumu said back home: Eat what you have.
This is Cook Islands food, not a nameless plate from the ocean. Its cousins keep their own names: Sāmoan palusami fai pisupo wraps corned beef with taro leaf and coconut cream, Tongan lū pulu folds the tin into lū leaves, and Hawaiian plate lunch puts corned beef beside rice and cabbage when that is what the week allows. One ocean, one canoe, one root, but every island's hand stays its own.
Don't dress this up like it is ceremony. The deep foods, taro in rukau, breadfruit, fish from the reef, the umukai (Cook Islands earth oven), they carry an older weight. Raro tarati is everyday cleverness, ship food made tender by coconut, cold salad for the aunties' table, the church hall, the backyard, the budget week when no one leaves hungry.
So keep the cuts clean, chill the tin, and fold gently. The cucumber and tomato give water, the onion wakes the bowl, and the coconut cream turns that salty corned beef soft and rich. Serve it over rice, family-style, enough for one more. No shame in the tin when the table is fed.
Raro tarati belongs to the Cook Islands' modern pantry, especially after the islands came under New Zealand administration in 1901 and imported tins, rice, and cash-store goods moved more steadily alongside taro, breadfruit, coconut, fish, and the umukai (Cook Islands earth oven). The word tarati carries the sound of the English 'salad' in Cook Islands usage, and the dish shows the post-contact line plainly: pisupo from the ship, coconut from the canoe plants, rice from later trade, all made into budget food for family tables and potlucks. Its cousins are named, not blurred, Sāmoan palusami fai pisupo, Tongan lū pulu, and Hawaiian corned-beef plate-lunch plates each carry the tin in their own island's hand.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
corned beef (pisupo)
Quantity
1 can (12 ounces / 340 g)
chilled
cucumber
Quantity
1 large
peeled in stripes, seeded, and sliced into half-moons
ripe tomatoes
Quantity
2 medium
seeded and cut into bite-size wedges
sweet onion or red onion
Quantity
1 small sweet onion or 1/2 red onion
very thinly sliced
green onions (optional)
Quantity
2
thinly sliced
thick coconut cream
Quantity
3/4 to 1 cup
fresh-squeezed if possible or well-stirred canned
fresh lime or lemon juice (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
to taste
fine sea salt (optional)
Quantity
only if needed
cooked white rice
Quantity
4 cups
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| corned beef (pisupo)chilled | 1 can (12 ounces / 340 g) |
| cucumberpeeled in stripes, seeded, and sliced into half-moons | 1 large |
| ripe tomatoesseeded and cut into bite-size wedges | 2 medium |
| sweet onion or red onionvery thinly sliced | 1 small sweet onion or 1/2 red onion |
| green onions (optional)thinly sliced | 2 |
| thick coconut creamfresh-squeezed if possible or well-stirred canned | 3/4 to 1 cup |
| fresh lime or lemon juice (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
| freshly ground black pepper | to taste |
| fine sea salt (optional) | only if needed |
| cooked white ricefor serving | 4 cups |
Equipment Needed
- •Large lidded 3-quart container for chilling and carrying
- •Fine-mesh sieve for draining seeded tomato and cucumber if they throw water
- •Coconut grater or sturdy blender plus nut-milk bag if pressing fresh coconut cream
Instructions
- 1
Chill the Tin
Set the unopened can of corned beef in the fridge until firm, at least 1 hour if you thought ahead. Open it, lift away any hard cap of fat if you like, and break the beef into thumb-size flakes. Keep some shape to it. You're feeding the salad, not making paste.
A chilled tin breaks into clean pieces and doesn't smear through the coconut cream. If the can is room temperature, no panic, just handle it with a lighter hand. - 2
Cut the Vegetables
Seed the cucumber and tomatoes so the salad stays creamy instead of watery. Slice the onion thin enough that it bends, not snaps. If the onion is sharp, soak it in cold water for 10 minutes, then drain it well. The bowl should smell clean and green before the corned beef goes in.
- 3
Loosen the Cream
Whisk the coconut cream until smooth and glossy. Stir in the lime or lemon juice if you're using it, then add black pepper. Taste before you add salt, because pisupo already brings plenty. Fresh coconut cream has the best body, but a good thick can does the weeknight job.
Use unsweetened coconut cream, not sweetened cream of coconut. The salad wants richness, not dessert. - 4
Fold the Salad
Put the cucumber, tomato, onion, green onion if using, and corned beef into a wide bowl. Pour over 3/4 cup coconut cream and fold with a broad spoon until everything is coated. Add the last 1/4 cup only if the rice wants more sauce. Gentle hands here. Let the corned beef stay in soft pieces.
- 5
Chill and Share
Cover and chill for 30 minutes so the onion softens and the coconut cream takes the salt from the corned beef. Serve cold over cooked white rice, family-style, with more pepper if the bowl asks for it. At a potluck, keep it cold and don't leave it sitting out longer than 2 hours, less if the day is hot.
Chef Tips
- •This is Cook Islands food, with a Rarotonga hand, so let it stand by its own name. Its cousins are Sāmoan palusami fai pisupo and Tongan lū pulu, close in pantry but not the same dish.
- •Corned beef is already salty. Taste at the end before reaching for more salt, or the coconut cream will turn heavy and the vegetables will throw too much water.
- •Fresh coconut cream is best when you can squeeze it from grated mature coconut. A thick canned coconut cream is welcome on a budget night. Keeper, not gatekeeper.
- •Seed the tomatoes and cucumber. That one small step keeps the salad creamy for the potluck table instead of thin and soupy at the bottom of the bowl.
- •For the deep parts of Cook Islands food, the umukai and the old taro work, go sit with Cook Islands elders and aunties who carry it. This salad is the everyday table, and that table matters too.
Advance Preparation
- •Chill the corned beef and coconut cream the night before so the salad folds clean and stays cold longer at the table.
- •Seed and slice the cucumber, tomatoes, and onion up to 4 hours ahead. Keep them covered and chilled, then drain off any water before folding.
- •Assemble the salad 30 minutes to 4 hours before serving. After that it still eats, but the vegetables soften and the coconut cream loosens.
- •For a potluck, carry it in a chilled container and set the bowl over ice. Food is love, yeah, and love keeps people safe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 295g)
Calories
415 calories
Total Fat
21 g
Saturated Fat
14 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
7 g
Cholesterol
55 mg
Sodium
610 mg
Total Carbohydrates
37 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
20 g
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