Skip to content

Recipe

Oceania →
Tonga → Tongatapu
🍽️ DINNER

Lo'i Feke (Octopus in Coconut Cream)

Tender octopus simmered gently with onion in thick coconut cream, a simple three-part island dish.
Tongan · medium · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 40 min
~498 cal · 37g protein · 15g carbs · 33g fat · 2g fiber · 6g sugars · 27g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Lo'i feke is a traditional Tongan seafood dish of octopus (feke) cooked in (lolo). At its most classic it is just three things: octopus, onion and thick , letting the sweet, faintly nutty octopus carry the plate.
The octopus is first cooked gently in a dry pot so it releases its own liquid and tenderises, a step Tongan cooks say is helped by freezing the octopus beforehand. Only then is it cut up and returned to the pot with softened onion and to briefly.
It is served with root crops such as yam, or , often themselves boiled in , and island greens. Rich and mild, it is the kind of coastal-village cooking that keeps the ingredients few and lets the sea speak.
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 gluten-, dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
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
Serves 4
2 lbs octopus, cleaned
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 cups thick
to taste salt
to taste black pepper
Instructions
1
If the octopus is fresh, freezing and then thawing it first helps tenderise it. Put the octopus in a heavy pot over low heat and let it cook gently in its own liquid until that liquid has cooked away.
✎ Chef’s note
Octopus firms up and then relaxes as it cooks; slow, gentle heat is what keeps it tender rather than rubbery.
2
Lift out the octopus, cut it into bite-sized pieces, and set it aside.
3
Add the onion to the pot and cook until soft and translucent.
4
Return the octopus, pour in the coconut cream, and simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. Season with salt and pepper and serve with yam, cassava or green bananas.
Tongan home cooking, Tongatapu.
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
📍
Tongatapu. The commonest lu here is lu pulu, made with tinned corned beef rather than fresh pork. Imported tins displaced fresh meat in Tongan households from the 1920s and became the festive ingredient, wrapped with coconut cream inside taro leaves and set in the umu.
🗺️
Tonga. Tongan food is Polynesian at heart, built on root crops like taro and cassava, coconut cream, and the underground ʻumu oven. Lu pulu (corned beef and taro leaves in coconut) is a Sunday-feast favorite.
🌍
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 Tonga
Lū PuluTaro-leaf parcels of seasoned beef and onion drowned in coconut cream, baked low until silken, Tonga’s Sunday centerpiece.
Keke IsiteTongan fried "yeast cakes", crisp-shelled, fluffy doughnuts eaten warm with tea, a Saturday-morning island tradition.
Faikakai TopaiSoft boiled dumplings drowned in a thick, dark coconut-sugar caramel, a Tongan after-feast sweet.
Browse all Tonga recipes →

Good to know

You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.

Make it a Tonga meal

'OtaiDrink
Faikakai TopaiDessert
Kapisi PuluLunch

Similar dishes from around the world

Moqueca Baiana (Bahian Fish Stew)Brazil
Eke Takare (Curried Octopus in Coconut Cream)Cook Islands
Callaloo and CrabDominica
DemokPalau
Mchuzi wa Samaki (Coconut Fish Curry)Tanzania
Crab in LoloTuvalu
Cuisine
Oceania Recipes
Diet
Gluten-Free Recipes from Around the World
Dairy-Free Recipes from Around the World
Egg-Free Recipes from Around the World
Pork-Free Recipes from Around the World
Dairy-Free Tongan Recipes
Gluten-Free Dinners from Around the World
Dairy-Free Dinners from Around the World
Egg-Free Dinners from Around the World
Protein
Seafood Recipes from Around the World
Oceanian Seafood Recipes

Frequently asked questions

What is Lo'i Feke (Octopus in Coconut Cream)?

Tender octopus simmered gently with onion in thick coconut cream, a simple three-part island dish.

Where does Lo'i Feke (Octopus in Coconut Cream) come from?

Lo'i Feke (Octopus in Coconut Cream) is a Tongan dish from Tongatapu, Tonga.

Can Lo'i Feke (Octopus in Coconut Cream) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

This Lo'i Feke (Octopus 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 Lo'i Feke (Octopus 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 Lo'i Feke (Octopus in Coconut Cream) take to make?

About 55 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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.