🍽️ Cuisine
Nauru, the world's smallest island republic in the Central Pacific, maintains a traditional cuisine centered on coconut, fish, and pandanus despite limited agricultural land. Nauruan cooking reflects Micronesian techniques passed through generations—pit-cooking, fermentation, and resourceful use of every part of the coconut palm.
Ika Mata
Coconut Marinated Fish
Fresh raw fish "cooked" in citrus and bathed in coconut cream—a refreshing dish perfect for Nauru's tropical climate and a staple of Pacific Island cuisine.
Ingredients: 300g fresh tuna or mahi-mahi, cubed, Juice of 4 limes, 150ml coconut cream, 1 small onion finely diced, 1 tomato diced, ½ cucumber diced, 1 red chili finely sliced, Salt, Fresh coriander.
Preparation: Place fish cubes in glass bowl and cover completely with lime juice. The acid will "cook" the fish—let it sit 30 minutes until fish turns opaque and white throughout. Drain most of the lime juice, leaving just a little. Add coconut cream, onion, tomato, cucumber, and chili. Gently fold together. Season with salt to taste. Refrigerate 15 minutes to let flavors meld. Serve chilled, garnished with fresh coriander, alongside taro or rice.
💡 Use the freshest fish possible—this dish relies entirely on quality ingredients with nowhere to hide.
Pandanus Fruit Paste
Edru
A traditional Nauruan preserved food—pandanus fruit pulp pounded and dried into portable cakes that sustained islanders for generations, now enjoyed as a sweet-tangy treat.
Ingredients: 500g ripe pandanus fruit keys (segments), 2 tbsp coconut cream, Pinch of salt, Banana leaves for wrapping.
Preparation: Remove the fibrous outer portion of each pandanus key. Pound the orange flesh in mortar until smooth paste forms—this takes patience. Traditional method involves chewing the fibers to extract pulp, but modern preparation uses food processor. Mix paste with coconut cream and salt. Spread thinly on banana leaves and dry in sun for 2-3 days, or use dehydrator at low temperature. Once dried, the paste becomes chewy and concentrated. Roll into small balls or press into flat cakes. Store wrapped in leaves.
💡 Fresh pandanus has an intensely tropical, almost floral flavor—nothing else quite like it.
Palusami
Baked Coconut Cream in Taro Leaves
Taro leaves wrapped around rich coconut cream and onion, baked until meltingly tender—a beloved dish throughout the Pacific and a centerpiece of Nauruan feasts.
Ingredients: 8 large taro leaves (or spinach/chard as substitute), 250ml thick coconut cream, 1 onion finely chopped, 2 cloves garlic minced, Salt and pepper, Aluminum foil.
Preparation: If using taro leaves, remove thick central stems and blanch leaves in boiling water for 5 minutes—this removes calcium oxalate which causes itching. Layer 4 leaves overlapping in cross pattern on piece of foil. Mix coconut cream with onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Spoon half the mixture into center of leaves. Fold leaves over to enclose completely, then wrap foil tightly. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling. Bake at 180°C for 45 minutes until leaves are completely tender. Serve as side dish, unwrapping at table.
💡 Never skip blanching taro leaves—the raw leaves contain irritants that cause severe throat discomfort.
