Cook Islands Cuisine

The cuisine of the Cook Islands is based on the seafood. The country has a wide choice of fresh seasonal fruits, especially coconut, papaya, mango, bananas, musk melons, and various other tropical fruits. There are two main ingredients that are used practically in every dish: rip banana and lime. Various herbal spices, onions, and garlic are also added. National specialties consist of Ungakoa (raw or cooked shellfish, served with taro or boiled green banana), Kanaka (the coconut cream, baked in oven), Raro Tarati Salad (a mix of lettuce, cucumber, tomato, radish, and coconut cream), and Ika mata (a raw fish, marinated in coconut cream and lemon juice). The sauces are wide spread in the cuisine of the Cook Islands. They include Moina Tai or coconut cream sauce, and Tai Oporo, a fresh coconut sauce. It is a tradition of the Cook Islands that food is usually eaten with fingers.