This is the best dish you’ll find in the Pacific, by far

The dish

Ota ika, Tonga

Plate up

With all due respect to the cuisine of the Pacific: it’s ota ika first, and daylight second. If we’re talking about the tastiest, most enjoyable dishes to eat by the side of a white-sand beach under the shade of a swaying palm, ota ika is so far ahead of its culinary competitors that it deserves its own category. This is a classic dish of Tonga, though you will find a similar preparation across the Pacific, in Fiji and Vanuatu, the Cook Islands and Samoa.

Essentially, it’s Pacific-style ceviche. White fish such as snapper or mahi-mahi is cut into chunks and cured in citrus juice (lemon or lime), before being mixed with fresh coconut milk and served with diced red onion, sometimes tomato, sometimes chilli and coriander, sometimes a vegetable such as taro or cassava. In Fiji it’s called kokoda, in the Cooks it’s ika mata, in New Caledonia it’s poisson cru. We just call it delicious.

This Tongan delicacy deserves its own category among South Pacific cuisine. Credit: iStock

First serve

Humans have been curing meats using citric acid for thousands of years, so it’s no surprise to find that Polynesians use the technique to preserve their catch. It’s not entirely clear who first added coconut milk, which is a key component and the best way to differentiate ota ika from Peruvian ceviche: some claim a Fijian restaurant owner hit on the idea in the 1930s, though the truth of that would be argued from Tonga to Tahiti. For their part, Tongans make no claim to an exact timeline.

Order there

As soon as you arrive in the Tongan capital of Nuku’alofa, head over to Friends Cafe for an excellent ota ika.

Order here

For the full Tongan experience in Sydney, grab a takeaway pack from Lola’s Island Shop in Heckenberg. In Melbourne, get your Polynesian cuisine from Kiwi Pacific Store in Laverton North.

One more thing

Most Polynesians will tell you the secret to a good ota ika is to use a fresh coconut, rather than tinned coconut milk. The white coconut flesh needs to be grated and then squeezed to extract the liquid.