Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Ika Mata
Raw fish cured in lime and bathed in fresh coconut cream with cucumber, tomato, and spring onion.
Cook Islands · easy · serves 4
prep 25 min · cook 0 min
~341 cal · 24g protein · 18g carbs · 21g fat · 4g fiber · 8g sugars · 18g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Ika mata is the raw-fish dish at the heart of Cook Islands cooking, close kin to Tahitian poisson cru and Fijian kokoda, and a staple of island tables and gatherings. Its name means simply raw fish.
Diced fish is marinated briefly in lime or lemon juice until it firms and turns opaque, then bathed in fresh . Cucumber, tomato, and spring onion bring crunch and freshness, and the coconut softens the citrus into a cool, creamy dressing.
Served chilled, ika mata is refreshing food for a warm climate, eaten as a starter or a light main. Bright, clean, and rich all at once, it is lagoon fish and coconut palm in a single bowl.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1 lb very fresh firm white fish or tuna, cubed
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 cup thick
1/2 cucumber, diced
1 tomato, diced
2 spring onions, sliced
1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
1
Toss the cubed fish (or hearts of palm) with the lime juice and salt and cure 10-15 minutes until the fish turns opaque.
2
Drain off most of the lime juice so the cure does not overpower the coconut.
3
Fold in the coconut cream until everything is silky and coated.
4
Stir through the cucumber, tomato, and spring onion.
5
Chill briefly and serve cold, in coconut shells or bowls.
Rarotonga tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Rarotonga. The traditional fish for ika mata is maroro, the flying fish, taken at night by boats carrying bright lights that make the fish leap toward them and into the nets. The coconut cream is grated and squeezed by hand on the day, which is the part islanders insist on.
🗺️
Cook Islands. Cook Islands cuisine is Polynesian, raw fish marinated in coconut cream (ika mata), taro, and the earth-oven umukai feast. The lagoon and the coconut palm define an island table of fish and root crops.
🌍
Oceania. The twentieth century changed the Pacific plate faster than anything before it. White rice, tinned corned beef, mutton flaps, flour and sugar arrived by ship and are now entirely everyday, and the public health consequences are among the most closely studied anywhere. Alongside that, Australian and New Zealand kitchens have taken up Asian technique and Maori and Pasifika cooking in a way they had not before.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Cook Islands
Cook Islands PokeCooked ripe banana bound with arrowroot and baked until translucent, drowned in thick coconut cream, eaten at breakfast, at teatime, or alongside the main meal.
Curried SausagesBrowned sausages simmered in a mild curry-and-coconut gravy over rice, a Rarotongan family lunch.
Pawpaw PokeThe orange poke of Rarotonga: ripe pawpaw thickened with arrowroot, baked into a soft pudding and eaten on its own under sweet coconut cream.
Browse all Cook Islands recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Best assembled just before serving. Prep the components ahead and dress at the last moment so it stays crisp.
Make it a Cook Islands meal
Tumunu (Bush Beer)Drink
Pawpaw PokeDessert
Rukau (Taro Leaves in Coconut Cream)Lunch
Similar dishes from around the world
Coconut FishNauru
CevichePeru
Kokoda (Fijian Coconut Ceviche)Fiji
Ahi PokeUnited States
Oka I'a (Samoan Raw Fish in Coconut Cream)Samoa
'Ota 'Ika (Tongan Raw Fish Salad)Tonga
Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Ika Mata?
Raw fish cured in lime and bathed in fresh coconut cream with cucumber, tomato, and spring onion.
Where does Ika Mata come from?
Ika Mata is a Cook Islands dish from Rarotonga, Cook Islands.
Can Ika Mata be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Ika Mata recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Ika Mata safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Ika Mata take to make?
About 25 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 0 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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