kokoda: marinated raw fish salad / kokoda: insalata di pesce crudo marinato

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

making kokoda fish

The sixteenth country of our World Culinary ABC¹ is Papua New Guinea (Papua Nuova Guinea). To celebrate this stop, I chose to make my version of kokoda, a marinated raw fish salad—the Pacific Islands' version of ceviche.² Apart for lemon, lime and coconut milk, the ingredients I chose are local.

This was the first I worked on a recipe using raw fish. The idea to look for a fish recipe came from the current selection of our Cook the Books Club, Yes, Chef, the autobiography of Chef Marcus Samuelsson. Early in the book, he tells the story of going fishing with his adoptive father and then preparing some mackerel (sgombro) for dinner for the two of them and one of his uncles. The fish caught around PNG is different from the fish caught in Sweden and from the fish caught in the water off the California North Coast, but in each case it is fresh catch.

Printer-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Kokoda fish

Ingredients:

• 300 g very fresh Pacific rockfish fillet (bones and skin removed) or any firm white fish fillet
• Grated zest of half an organic lime
• 1/4 cup / 60 ml fresh lemon juice
• 3 heirloom tomatoes
• 1 sweet red pepper, roasted, peeled and seeded³
• Half of a small melon (8 ounces / 225 g before cleaning)
• 2 tablespoons / 30 ml coconut milk (latte di cocco)
  
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• A few small leaves of fresh basil (basilico)

Serves 3

Note #1: Different recipes add different ingredients to the salad: I avoid raw alliums because I think they clash with the rockfish's mild flavor. And I roast the pepper to get a more balanced texture and more interesting flavor in the finished dish.

Note #2: Some recipes use coconut cream, others coconut milk. I could not find the cream, so I used the milk.

Cut the fish into 3/8-1/2 inch / 1-1.25 cm cubes.

Transfer the fish to a ceramic or glass bowl, sprinkle lime zest on it, pour lemon juice and toss well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight, tossing it occasionally with a wooden spoon.

When ready to serve, prepare the salad ingredients: slice the tomatoes, chop the sweet pepper and cube the melon (after removing rind ad seeds). For a decorative touch, make 6 melon balls with the appropriate tool and set aside.

Pour off any marinade from the bowl, if any. Add the coconut milk, sea salt and pepper and toss well. Arrange 1/3 of the salad ingredients on each plate, then add 1/3 of the marinated fish. If you prefer, you can add the salad ingredients to the fish and toss before plating.

Decorate the plates with the melon balls, if you made them, and the basil leaves.

a pretty plate

If you are interested in the life of chefs, you may enjoy Yes, Chef. It didn't hold my attention past the first few chapters. (On my reading material's desk, it had to compete with Jo Nesbø's riveting novel Cockroaches.)

¹ The World Culinary ABC kick-off post
² One recipe (from the website taste.com.au) and another recipe (from the book The World Cookbook: The Greatest Recipes from Around the Globe by Jeanne Jacob and Michael Ashkenazi
³ In this post I describe how I prepare roasted sweet peppers

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I contribute my kokoda fish to the 16th installment of the Abbecedario culinario mondiale (World Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 27 countries of the world using the alphabet as guide. P like Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) is hosted by Aioulik of Trattoria MuVarA (a.k.a. #lacapa).

The list of recipes contributed to the event and their slide show.

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This is also my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by Rachel of The Crispy Cook. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

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Finally, this is my contribution to the 25th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started some time ago and that I continue to host.

The roundup of the event.

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Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

kokoda: insalata di pesce crudo marinato

or launch the kokoda: insalata di pesce crudo marinato audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

kokoda, fish, salad, appetizer, Pacific Islands

[jump to Comments]

kokoda: insalata di pesce crudo marinato

kokoda in fase di preparazione

La sedicesima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale¹ è Papua Nuova Guinea. Per celebrare questa tappa ho preparato la mia versione di kokoda, un'insalata di pesce crudo marinato.² A parte limone, lime e latte di cocco, gli ingredienti che ho utilizzato sono di produzione locale.

Ingredienti:

• 300 g filetto di pesce a piacere, privo di pelle e lisca; scegliete un pesce a carni bianche freschissimo (io ho usato del Pacific rockfish)
• buccia grattugiata di mezzo lime bio
• 60 ml succo di limone fresco
• 3 pomodori
• 1 peperone dolce arrosto arrosto, privato di pelle e semi ³
• mezzo melone piccolo (225 g prima di privarlo di semi e buccia)
• 2 cucchiai / 30 ml latte di cocco
  
• sale fino e pepe nero macinato fresco, q.b.
• alcune foglioline di basilico fresco

Porzioni: 3

Nota #1: Le diverse ricette aggiungono diversi ingredienti. Io evito cipolla e aglio freschi perché credo che il loro sapore sia troppo forte per quello delicato del rockfish. E arrostisco il peperone per avere un equilibrio nella consistenza e nel sapore del piatto finale.

Nota #2: Alcune ricette usano la crema di cocco, altre il latte. Io non ho trovato la crema e ho usato il latte.

Tagliare il pesce a dadi di 1-1,25 cm di lato e trasferirlo in una ciotola di vetro o ceramica. Spargere la buccia grattugiata di lime e il succo di limone sul pesce e mescolare bene. Coprire la ciotola con della pellicola di plastica e metterla nel frigorifero per 8 ore o durante la notte. Ogni tanto, mescolare il pesce con un cucchiaio di legno.

Poco prima di servire, preparare gli ingredienti per l'insalata: affettare i pomodori, spezzettare il peperone arrosto e tagliare a dadi il melone (dopo aver rimosso i semi e la buccia). Come tocco decorativo, potete fare 6 palline di melone con l'apposito utensile e metterle da parte.

Se c'è del liquido sul fondo della ciotola col pesce, scolarlo. Aggiungere il latte di cocco, sale e pepe e mescolare bene. Arrangiare 1/3 degli ingredienti dell'insalata su ciascun piatto, poi aggiungere 1/3 del pesce. Se preferite, potete aggiungere gli ingredienti al pesce e mescolare prima di impiattare.

Decorare i piatti con le palline di melone, se le avete fatte, e le foglioline di basilico.

un piatto allegro ed invitante

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¹ Post inaugurale dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale
² Una ricetta (in inglese, dal sito taste.com.au) e un'altra ricetta (dal libro The World Cookbook: The Greatest Recipes from Around the Globe di Jeanne Jacob e Michael Ashkenazi
³ In questo post descrivo la preparazione dei peperoni arrosto

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Con kododa partecipo alla sedicesima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare 27 paesi del mondo usando le lettere dell'alfabeto come guida. P come Port Moresby (Papua Nuova Guinea) è ospitata da Aioulik di Trattoria MuVarA (a.k.a. #lacapa).

La lista di ricette contribuite all'evento e lo slide show che le mostra.  

 

Comments

[Aiuolik]

Dopo tante patate dolci, un po' di pesce :-)
Bella questa insalata e sicuramente buonissima. Grazie per essere arrivata sino a qui e inizia a preparare le valigie per l'Ecuador :-)

[Frank]

I guess we shouldn't be surprised to find something like ceviche in the Pacific, but I was intrigued by the addition of coconut milk—sounds very nice!

[Paola]

Questa ricetta embra così fresca e profumata...davvero da provare!
Biona giornata!!

[Simona Carini]

Anche io avevo adocchiato le patate dolci, poi ho pensato che cosi' nel mezzo dell'oceano il pesce deve essere buono. Valigie pronte: ho gia' una ricetta in mente. Devo trovare gli ingredienti.

[Simona Carini]

You are right, Frank. Since we started from Samoa, my fellow "travelers" and I have learned a lot about using coconut and its derivates in cooking—ingredients quite foreign to Italian cuisine. I made a soup with the coconut milk left over from this recipe and it was a hit. Also, I now regularly use coconut butter when I bake scones.

[Simona Carini]

Si', Paola, e a parte ricordarsi di mettere a marinare il pesce qualche ora prima, e' anche facile e veloce.

[Rachel]

Thank you for this Cook the Books post.

[Simona Carini]

You are welcome, Rachel.

[Debra Eliotseats]

Very fresh and delicious looking dish, Simona.

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Debra :)

[Claudia]

We love our fish here in Hawaii, raw or not, and I want to try this version with the coconut milk. Though I'll add sliced starfruit instead of melon as that is falling all over the place right now. Good choice Simona.

[Simona Carini]

Falling starfruit is not a bad problem to have, Claudia. I think it would be a lovely addition to this dish. And you certainly have a number of choices when it comes to fresh fish.

[Alicia (foodycat)]

It looks very good! I've had a Tongan version that is similar, but I really like the melon addition.

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Alicia. I recommend the melon: it balances out the tomatoes and makes the dish lighter.

[Wendy, A Day in the Life on the Farm]

I first had Kokoda when we were in Fiji and the Chief of the village held a cooking class. He provided us with his recipe and I made it when we hosted our after dive party. It was a great success. I love that you took your inspiration from Marcus' childhood fishing adventures.

[Simona Carini]

Wow, a cooking class in Fiji! That must have been an in fun experience, Wendy.