Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Talo Tokotokoi (Baked Taro with Coconut Cream)
Baked taro broken into chunks and coated in a thick, sweet coconut cream cooked down until glossy, a favourite at Tuvaluan feasts.
Tuvaluan · easy · serves 6
prep 20 min · cook 90 min
~433 cal · 5g protein · 61g carbs · 20g fat · 7g fiber · 21g sugars · 18g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Talo tokotokoi is a Tuvaluan dish that champions the two staples of the Pacific: and . Its name describes what happens, the baked is broken into pieces and the poured over, and it is a popular sight at any fakaala, the community feast.
Whole is baked until it cracks and the smell fills the kitchen, then broken along the cracks into chunks. Meanwhile is warmed and stirred patiently, in one Tuvaluan cook's account always clockwise, with sugar added partway through, until it thickens to a glossy sauce with no small bubbles left. The is then folded through until fully coated.
It belongs to the same family as the pulaka and dishes drenched in that are made across Tuvalu's islands, tulolo among them. Warm, rich and sweet, talo tokotokoi is festive comfort food from the low atolls.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and 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 6
2 lbs , peeled and halved lengthwise
1.5 cups thick
1/2 cup sugar
Instructions
1
Peel the taro and slice each piece in half lengthwise, then bake at 350°F for about an hour, turning halfway, until soft and showing crack lines.
✎ Chef’s note
Taro must be cooked right through, both for texture and because underdone taro irritates the throat.
2
While the taro bakes, warm the coconut cream in a pot over medium heat, stirring steadily, and after about 25 minutes stir in the sugar.
✎ Chef’s note
Keep stirring in one direction until the mixture thickens and you can no longer see small bubbles; that glossy, thickened cream is the point of the dish.
3
Break the baked taro into chunks along its crack lines.
4
Place the taro in a bowl, pour over the thickened coconut cream, and fold gently until every piece is coated. Serve warm.
Tuvaluan tradition, Funafuti.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Funafuti. Pulaka is the same plant as Kiribati's babai, grown in pits dug below the freshwater lens, and it takes around five years to make a tuber worth lifting. Preservation here is by drying rather than fermenting, because a brackish water table makes deep fermentation pits impossible.
🗺️
Tuvalu. Pulaka is the same giant swamp taro that Kiribati calls babai, grown in pits cut down towards the water table. Tuvalu preserves by drying rather than by fermenting, because a high brackish water table makes deep fermentation pits impossible, so the Marshallese method of burying breadfruit does not transfer here.
🌍
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 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, Oven.
Storing it: Keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and reheats covered in the oven. Most bakes can be assembled a day ahead and baked when needed.
Make it a Tuvalu meal
Crab in LoloDinner
KaleveDrink
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Frequently asked questions
What is Talo Tokotokoi (Baked Taro with Coconut Cream)?
Baked taro broken into chunks and coated in a thick, sweet coconut cream cooked down until glossy, a favourite at Tuvaluan feasts.
Where does Talo Tokotokoi (Baked Taro with Coconut Cream) come from?
Talo Tokotokoi (Baked Taro with Coconut Cream) is a Tuvaluan dish from Funafuti, Tuvalu.
Can Talo Tokotokoi (Baked Taro with Coconut Cream) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Talo Tokotokoi (Baked Taro with 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 Talo Tokotokoi (Baked Taro with 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 Talo Tokotokoi (Baked Taro with Coconut Cream) take to make?
About 110 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 90 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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