Recipe
🥤 DRINK
Sakau
Pohnpei's ceremonial kava: pepper-shrub root pounded on a basalt stone and wrung through hibiscus bark into a thick, slippery brew.
Micronesian · medium · serves 6
prep 30 min · cook 0 min
~19 cal · 0g protein · 4g carbs · 0g fat · 0g fiber · 0g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Sakau is the Micronesian name for kava on the island of Pohnpei, where it is a living symbol of tradition, honoured enough that the coconut-shell cup it is drunk from appears on the state flag. Made from the pounded root of the pepper shrub Piper methysticum, it was once reserved for chiefs and ceremony and is now shared at feasts, at reconciliations, and, increasingly, at roadside sakau bars in the evenings.
What sets Pohnpeian sakau apart is the hibiscus. The root is pounded rhythmically on a broad basalt stone, the pounders ringing the stone like a bell, then the pulp is laid in strips of the sea hibiscus tree's slippery inner bark and wrung out. The bark's mucilage gives sakau a thick, viscous body found nowhere else, and helps carry the kavalactones into the drink.
Sakau is served in a coconut-shell cup, passed from higher to lower rank, and drunk with the same quiet respect kava commands across the Pacific. It contains no alcohol but is genuinely psychoactive and notably strong here, so it is treated with care and never taken before driving.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- 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 6
10 oz fresh sakau (kava) root, cleaned
a small handful strips of fresh sea hibiscus inner bark, the traditional strainer; its mucilage gives sakau its signature slippery body
3 cups cool water
Instructions
1
Lay the cleaned root on a broad flat stone and pound it steadily to a wet, fibrous pulp.
✎ Chef’s note
On Pohnpei the pounding is done on a basalt stone in a shared rhythm; the point is to break the fibres and free the kavalactones.
2
Peel the slippery inner bark from the sea hibiscus into long strips and lay the pounded root inside them.
3
Add a little of the water, then twist and wring the bark bundle so the brew squeezes out thick and slippery into a bowl.
4
Repeat with the remaining water until the root is spent, collecting the grey, viscous liquid.
5
Serve in a coconut-shell cup, passed around the group. Sakau is non-alcoholic but strongly psychoactive, so do not combine it with alcohol or drive afterward.
Pohnpei (Palikir) sakau tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Palikir. Sakau is Pohnpei's kava, pounded on a flat stone and squeezed through hibiscus bast, which gives it a distinctly slippery body rather than a thin one. Pohnpei is unusually wet and green for Micronesia, so breadfruit, taro and bananas grow easily and the reef supplies the rest.
🗺️
Micronesia. Sakau is Pohnpei's kava, pounded on a flat basalt stone with a rhythm that carries across a village and strained through the inner bark of hibiscus into a coconut shell. It is drunk in a nahs, a community house, and the order in which cups are passed follows title and rank rather than who arrived first.
🌍
Oceania. Oceania spans Australia, New Zealand, and thousands of Pacific islands, where the ocean and the coconut palm define the pantry. Traditional Polynesian and Melanesian cooking centers on root crops, taro, yam, cassava, and sweet potato, slow-cooked in earth ovens (the umu or mumu) alongside fresh reef fish and rich coconut cream. Modern Australian and Māori kitchens blend these deep roots with waves of Asian and European influence.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Micronesia
Coconut Crab with TaroPrized coconut crab simmered in its own fat with coconut cream, served with steamed taro.
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.
Browse all Micronesia recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Micronesia meal
Kon (Chuukese Pounded Breadfruit)Dinner
Uht Sukusuk (Pounded Banana with Coconut Cream)Dessert
Similar dishes from around the world
Kava (Yaqona)Fiji
Nakamal KavaVanuatu
Ginger BeerAntigua and Barbuda
Lemon, Lime and BittersAustralia
Seaweed ShakeBelize
Mote con HuesilloChile
Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Sakau?
Pohnpei's ceremonial kava: pepper-shrub root pounded on a basalt stone and wrung through hibiscus bark into a thick, slippery brew.
Where does Sakau come from?
Sakau is a Micronesian dish from Palikir, Micronesia.
Can Sakau be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Sakau 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 Sakau 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 Sakau take to make?
About 30 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 0 minutes cooking), serving 6.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.