Recipe

Oceania🇸🇧 Solomon IslandsHoniara
Fish with Slippery Cabbage & Kumara
Solomon Islander · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 35 min
~674 cal · 43g protein · 36g carbs · 41g fat (estimated, per serving)
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Fish and kumara in coconut with green leaves
🇸🇧 Honiara
Everyday Solomon Islands cooking leans on the reef and the garden: fresh fish, starchy kumara, and slippery cabbage (aibika), the tender island green that thickens as it cooks. Simmered together in coconut cream, they make a gentle, nourishing one-pot that feeds families across Guadalcanal.
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Ingredients
Serves 4
1.5 lb reef fish, cut in chunks
1 lb kumara (sweet potato), cubed
1 bunch slippery cabbage (aibika) or spinach
1.5 cups coconut cream
1 onion, finely chopped
1 lime
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Simmer the kumara with the onion in a little water until nearly tender.
2
Pour in the coconut cream and bring to a gentle simmer.
3
Add the fish (or hearts of palm and mushrooms) and cook until nearly done.
4
Fold in the greens and cook until wilted and the sauce thickens.
5
Finish with lime and salt and serve.
Honiara tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Honiara. A Guadalcanal capital of fish, kumara, and greens.
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Solomon Islands. Melanesian isles of fish, kumara, and slippery cabbage.
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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.
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Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
More from Solomon Islands
Boiled Kumara with Fresh Coconut
Tender boiled kumara (sweet potato) tossed with fresh grated coconut and a little salt — an honest, everyday Solomon Islands breakfast.