~838 cal · 34g protein · 73g carbs · 48g fat (estimated, per serving)
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Dense taro cake with coconut-poached reef fish
🇰🇮 Tarawa
Babai — giant swamp taro — is a prestige food in Kiribati, grown for years in careful pits and reserved for feasts. Grated and baked with coconut cream, it is dense and rich, served alongside reef fish gently poached in more coconut, the twin gifts of the atoll: the pit and the lagoon.
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🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 4 —
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2 lb giant swamp taro or taro root, grated
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1 lb reef fish fillets
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2 cups thick coconut cream
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1 onion, finely chopped
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1 lime
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to taste sea salt
Instructions
1
Mix the grated taro with half the coconut cream and salt.
2
Wrap in foil or leaves and bake at 375°F for about 45 minutes until dense and set.
3
Gently poach the fish (or hearts of palm and mushrooms) with the onion in the remaining coconut cream.
4
Finish the fish with lime and salt.
5
Slice the baked taro and serve with the coconut fish spooned over.
Tarawa feast tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Tarawa. An atoll capital of swamp taro and reef fish.
🗺️
Kiribati. Scattered atolls living on fish, coconut, and swamp taro.
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Oceania. Island kitchens where coconut and the sea rule.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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