Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Crab in Lolo
Crab simmered in lolo, a rich coconut-cream sauce with onion and garlic, a celebration dish of Tuvalu where the prized coconut crab is reserved for feasts.
Tuvaluan · medium · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 35 min
~676 cal · 52g protein · 15g carbs · 48g fat · 3g fiber · 8g sugars · 38g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Lolo is the Tuvaluan word for , and crab in lolo is one of the islands’ great feast dishes. The most prized version uses the uga, or coconut crab, a huge land crab whose meat carries a faint coconut sweetness; because it is slow to breed and its harvest is carefully controlled by island leaders, it is saved for weddings, visiting chiefs and national celebrations. Everyday cooks make the same dish with lagoon and reef crabs.
The method is simple and lets the seafood shine: crab pieces are simmered in loosened with a little water, with onion and garlic, until the sauce turns rich and clings to the shells. On the outer islands the dish would traditionally be cooked over fire, the freshly pressed from grated mature coconut.
Serve it with boiled pulaka, rice or to soak up the lolo. If coconut crab is unavailable, any good crab works.
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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 kg crab, cleaned and cut into pieces (uga land crab traditionally)
500 ml thick (lolo)
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Soften the onion and garlic in a little oil in a wide pot over medium heat.
2
Add the crab pieces and the water, cover, and steam for a few minutes until the shells turn red.
3
Pour in the coconut cream and a good pinch of salt, and bring to a gentle simmer.
✎ Chef’s note
Keep the heat gentle once the coconut cream goes in; a hard boil can make it split and turn oily.
4
Simmer uncovered until the crab is cooked through and the sauce has thickened and clings to the shells, about 20 minutes.
5
Taste for salt and serve hot with boiled pulaka, rice or breadfruit to soak up the lolo.
Tuvaluan celebration dish.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Funafuti. Funafuti is a low atoll capital sustained by pulaka, the swamp taro grown in dug pits, alongside coconut, breadfruit, and reef fish. Tuvaluan cooking is built entirely around what the atoll and the lagoon provide.
🗺️
Tuvalu. The sweet puddings are a family with a shared prefix: solopulaka, solotaro and solomei, made by grating the root or the breadfruit, mixing it with coconut cream, and baking it in the umu until it sets. Fekei belongs to that group, and the coconut in it is grated and squeezed rather than opened from a tin.
🌍
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 Tuvalu
Pulaka with Coconut FishEarthy swamp-taro pulaka served with fish baked in coconut cream, the mainstay of atoll life.
FekeiA sweet Tuvaluan pudding of grated pulaka or banana cooked with coconut cream into a sticky, caramel-rich cake.
Grilled Breadfruit with MitiWhole breadfruit roasted over coals until smoky and tender, torn into pieces and dipped into miti, a fresh coconut cream sauce sharpened with onion, chili and lime.
Browse all Tuvalu recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Steamer.
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 Tuvalu meal
KaleveDrink
Talo Tokotokoi (Baked Taro with Coconut Cream)Dessert
Grilled Breadfruit with MitiLunch
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Mchuzi wa Samaki (Coconut Fish Curry)Tanzania
Lo'i Feke (Octopus in Coconut Cream)Tonga
Cuisine
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
Gluten-Free Tuvaluan Recipes
Dairy-Free Tuvaluan Recipes
Gluten-Free Dinners from Around the World
Dairy-Free Dinners from Around the World
Egg-Free Dinners from Around the World
Frequently asked questions
What is Crab in Lolo?
Crab simmered in lolo, a rich coconut-cream sauce with onion and garlic, a celebration dish of Tuvalu where the prized coconut crab is reserved for feasts.
Where does Crab in Lolo come from?
Crab in Lolo is a Tuvaluan dish from Funafuti, Tuvalu.
Can Crab in Lolo be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Crab in Lolo 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 Crab in Lolo 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 Crab in Lolo take to make?
About 55 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 35 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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