Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Coconut Fish
Nauru's national dish: freshly caught tuna diced raw and steeped in thick coconut cream with lime, served cool with rice.
Nauruan · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 15 min
~665 cal · 53g protein · 40g carbs · 33g fat · 3g fiber · 6g sugars · 28g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Coconut fish is the national dish of Nauru, the Pacific's smallest republic, and it is about as simple as a dish can be: tuna landed that morning, diced raw, and steeped in thick sharpened with lime. Nothing is cooked. The lime firms the fish slightly and the turns it rich and cool.
It is the one dish that still reflects the island as it was before phosphate mining reshaped everything. Nauru's older diet was built on reef fish, coconut palms and pandanus; today the shops run mostly on rice, instant noodles and canned meat brought in by ship every six weeks, and fresh produce is scarce and expensive. Coconut fish survives because the tuna is still out there and the palms still bear.
Whether you get it depends entirely on the morning's catch. Served with white rice, it is clean, cold and rich all at once, and it tastes like the version of the island that the ocean still provides.
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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
1.5 lb sashimi-grade tuna
1 1/2 cups thick
2 limes, juiced
1/2 onion, finely sliced
1 chili, sliced
to taste salt
2 cups cooked rice, to serve
Instructions
1
Cut the tuna (or hearts of palm) into clean bite-sized cubes with a sharp knife.
✎ Chef’s note
Use the freshest sashimi-grade tuna you can get. Nothing here is cooked, so the dish is only ever as good as the fish.
2
Squeeze the lime over the fish, season with salt, and let it sit a few minutes while the lime firms the surface.
3
Pour over the thick coconut cream and fold in the sliced onion and chili.
4
Chill for 20 minutes so it is properly cold, then taste and adjust the lime and salt.
5
Serve cool in bowls with plain white rice alongside.
Yaren tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Yaren. What the island still has is the sea. Nauru sits in some of the richest tuna water in the Pacific and licenses much of that fishery to distant fleets, while coastal fishing and the pandanus and coconut on the narrow fertile rim supply what is left of the older table.
🗺️
Nauru. Nauru, one of the world's smallest nations, relies on the sea and the coconut, fresh fish, coconut, and imported rice. Simple, ocean-driven eating defines the tiny Pacific island.
🌍
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 Nauru
Banana in Coconut CreamRipe bananas warmed in sweet coconut cream with a hint of lime, a soft, quick Nauruan breakfast from the Pacific's smallest republic.
Nauruan Chop SueyNauru's everyday plate: chicken stir-fried fast with cabbage, carrot and onion in a light soy sauce, a dish the island's Chinese kitchens made a staple.
Nauruan Coconut MousseA light, cool Nauruan coconut mousse: coconut milk sweetened and set soft with agar and folded through whipped coconut cream, made for special days.
Browse all Nauru 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 Nauru meal
Coconut WaterDrink
Nauruan Coconut MousseDessert
Nauruan Chop SueyLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Coconut Fish?
Nauru's national dish: freshly caught tuna diced raw and steeped in thick coconut cream with lime, served cool with rice.
Where does Coconut Fish come from?
Coconut Fish is a Nauruan dish from Yaren, Nauru.
Can Coconut Fish be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Coconut Fish 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 Fish 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 Fish take to make?
About 30 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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