A FOOD TRADITION
Motu-Koitabu Cuisine
Motu-Koitabu cuisine comes from the coastal communities around the Central Province and Port Moresby area, combining reef and shoreline foods with garden crops and sago. Fish, shellfish, coconut, taro, bananas, yams, and greens are commonly grilled, boiled, wrapped in leaves, or cooked in coconut-based preparations. The region is especially associated with communal feasting and the historic food-exchange networks of the Gulf of Papua, including hiri voyaging. Recognizable preparations include coconut-cooked fish, grilled or boiled shellfish, and sago-based staples served with seafood or greens. This is a living coastal foodway, not simply an urban or administrative cuisine.
Dishes linked to this cuisine
1–5 of 5
Dia
Dia is a Papua New Guinean traditional sweet preparation of ripe bananas combined with coconut milk and cooked until soft and pudding-like.
Kaukau
Kaukau is Papua New Guinean sweet potato, typically roasted, baked, or boiled and served as a starchy accompaniment or simple main food.
Kokoda
Kokoda is a Pacific raw-fish preparation associated especially with Fijian and Papua New Guinean cuisine, in which fish is cured or marinated in citrus juice and combined with coconut milk or cream, onion, tomato, and chilli.
Saksak
Saksak is a steamed sweet dumpling made from sago flour and banana with coconut milk, often cooked in a banana-leaf parcel.
Taro in Coconut Milk
A traditional preparation of boiled taro served in a rich coconut-milk sauce, often lightly sweetened or seasoned.
Catalogue preview Cuisine connections may be unreviewed. Regional comparisons include their food references and do not establish the ingredients of a particular meal.