Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Coconut Crab with Taro
Prized coconut crab simmered in its own fat with coconut cream, served with steamed taro.
Micronesian · medium · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 40 min
~734 cal · 50g protein · 58g carbs · 35g fat · 10g fiber · 7g sugars · 27g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Coconut crab is one of the great delicacies of Micronesia, a giant land crab that climbs palms and feeds on fallen coconuts, its flesh sweet and its fat prized above all. Catching and cooking one is an occasion in itself across the Federated States.
The crab is simmered gently in its own rich fat with , a preparation that lets its naturally sweet, nutty flavour shine without competition. Steamed on the side soaks up the luxurious juices.
Because the coconut crab is slow-growing and increasingly protected, the dish carries a sense of specialness and care. Rich, indulgent, and unmistakably of the islands, it is celebration food that tastes of the reef, the palm, and the forest floor at once.
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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
2 lb crab (coconut crab or blue/king crab)
1.5 lb root, peeled
1.5 cups thick
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 lime
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Steam or boil the taro until tender.
2
Soften the onion, garlic, and ginger.
3
Add the crab (or hearts of palm and mushrooms) and the coconut cream and simmer gently until cooked and glossy.
4
Finish with lime and salt.
5
Serve the crab in its coconut sauce with the steamed taro.
Pohnpei tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Palikir. Yams here are grown for standing as much as for eating. They are cultivated competitively for the kamadipw feasts and measured by how many men it takes to carry one, offered alongside pigs and sakau, and what a family brings speaks for them.
🗺️
Micronesia. The Federated States of Micronesia cook close to the reef, fresh fish, taro, breadfruit, and coconut, often in an earth oven. Island root crops and the surrounding Pacific define the table.
🌍
Oceania. The staple crops here were carried on purpose. Lapita voyagers moving east from roughly three thousand years ago brought taro, yam, banana, breadfruit and coconut with them along with pigs and chickens, because most of the islands they settled had almost nothing edible growing on them. The earth oven travelled too, as umu, imu, hangi, lovo, mumu, motu and um.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Micronesia
Grilled Reef Fish with RiceWhole reef fish grilled over coconut husks with lime and served over hot rice, a savory, protein-rich Micronesian morning plate.
Reef Fish with BreadfruitReef fish gently poached in coconut cream with ginger and lime, served over roasted breadfruit, the everyday midday plate of the Pohnpei coast.
Uht Sukusuk (Pounded Banana with Coconut Cream)A Pohnpeian sweet of ripe bananas boiled and pounded to a smooth, sticky mass, crowned with a pour of fresh coconut cream.
Browse all Micronesia recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Steamer.
Storing it: Keeps 2 to 3 days refrigerated. Resteam or warm through gently to serve.
Make it a Micronesia meal
SakauDrink
Uht Sukusuk (Pounded Banana with Coconut Cream)Dessert
Fafa (Kosraean Pounded Taro)Lunch
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Coconut Crab with Taro?
Prized coconut crab simmered in its own fat with coconut cream, served with steamed taro.
Where does Coconut Crab with Taro come from?
Coconut Crab with Taro is a Micronesian dish from Palikir, Micronesia.
Can Coconut Crab with Taro be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Coconut Crab with Taro 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 Coconut Crab with Taro 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 Coconut Crab with Taro take to make?
About 60 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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