Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Oka I'a (Samoan Raw Fish in Coconut Cream)
Fresh fish cured briefly in lemon or lime, then folded into thick coconut cream with onion, tomato and cucumber.
Samoan · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 0 min
~351 cal · 24g protein · 20g carbs · 21g fat · 4g fiber · 9g sugars · 18g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Oka i'a is Samoa's raw-fish dish, the local member of a Pacific family that also includes Fijian kokoda and Tahitian poisson cru. Fresh fish is diced and briefly in lemon or lime juice, which firms the flesh, then dressed with thick, salted and a few crisp vegetables.
It is one of the oldest ways Samoans eat their catch, and the rule is freshness over long marinating: the fish sits in the citrus only until it turns opaque on the surface, then it is drained and the folded through. Onion, tomato and cucumber add colour and crunch, chilli if you like heat.
Cooling and rich at once, oka i'a is a staple of the to'ona'i, the Sunday lunch after church, and of weddings and gatherings. It is served cold, often with or chips.
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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 sashimi-grade white fish (tuna or snapper), diced
2/3 cup lemon or lime juice, freshly squeezed
1 cup thick
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced
2 spring onion, sliced
1 red chilli, sliced (optional)
to taste sea salt
Instructions
1
Put the diced fish in a non-metal bowl and pour over enough lemon or lime juice to cover. Chill until the flesh turns opaque on the outside, about 10 to 15 minutes.
✎ Chef’s note
Cure briefly: a long soak over-firms the fish and turns it sour. Drain off most of the citrus before dressing.
2
Drain off most of the citrus, leaving just a little for brightness.
3
Add the onion, tomato, cucumber, spring onion and chilli, and season with salt.
4
Fold in the coconut cream gently until everything is coated. Taste for salt and serve cold, with taro or taro chips.
Samoan to'ona'i tradition, Upolu.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Upolu. Samoa's Upolu island cooks the umu earth oven each Sunday, taro, breadfruit, and palusami baked in coconut cream. Fresh fish and root crops define its Polynesian table.
🗺️
Samoa. The Samoan umu is built above the ground rather than dug as a pit, which sets it apart from the Hawaiian imu, the Fijian lovo and the Maori hangi. Stones are heated over a wood fire, raked flat, loaded with wrapped food and covered over, and nobody touches it again until it is time to open it.
🌍
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 Samoa
Palusami (Baked Coconut Taro Parcels)Taro leaves wrapped around rich coconut cream and onion, baked until silky, the crown of the umu feast.
Koko AlaisaSamoan cocoa rice: short-grain rice simmered with rich local cocoa, coconut, and sugar into a warm, chocolatey porridge.
Fa'ausiWarm squares of grated-taro cake folded through a dark, salty-sweet coconut caramel, a Samoan Sunday favorite.
Browse all Samoa 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 Samoa meal
Koko SamoaDrink
Fa'ausiDessert
Palusami (Baked Coconut Taro Parcels)Dinner
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Cuisine
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Frequently asked questions
What is Oka I'a (Samoan Raw Fish in Coconut Cream)?
Fresh fish cured briefly in lemon or lime, then folded into thick coconut cream with onion, tomato and cucumber.
Where does Oka I'a (Samoan Raw Fish in Coconut Cream) come from?
Oka I'a (Samoan Raw Fish in Coconut Cream) is a Samoan dish from Upolu, Samoa.
Can Oka I'a (Samoan Raw Fish in Coconut Cream) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Oka I'a (Samoan Raw Fish in Coconut Cream) 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 Oka I'a (Samoan Raw Fish in Coconut Cream) 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 Oka I'a (Samoan Raw Fish in Coconut Cream) take to make?
About 20 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 0 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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