Techniques
Samoan Fa'ausi steaming cooks fish gently in a sealed pot with banana leaf and coconut milk, preserving moisture and nutrients.
Low‑temperature aqueous extraction of kavalactones from ground kava root.
Samoan fish sun‑drying involves laying fish flat on woven mats and exposing them to direct sunlight for several days to reduce moisture content.
A traditional Pacific Island method combining sun‑drying, salting, and smoking to preserve fish.
Kava root is ground and macerated in cold water to extract lipophilic kavalactones, then whisked and served communally in a single gulp.
The umu/imu earth‑oven cooks food slowly in a pit using hot stones and earth to maintain steady heat.
A traditional Pacific Island method of preserving fish by salting and fermenting in porous clay pots under tropical conditions.
A traditional Polynesian earth‑oven method that cooks food wrapped in banana leaves, combining gentle heat with mild fermentation to preserve moisture and enhance flavor.
Fa'ausi is a Samoan method of simmering fish in coconut milk at low heat to create a creamy, non‑curdled broth.
A traditional Polynesian cooking method that uses a heated basalt stone placed in a pit to cook foods at high, steady temperatures.
Traditional Samoan method of cooking food in an underground oven