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.

Catalogue preview Cuisine connections may be unreviewed. Regional comparisons include their food references and do not establish the ingredients of a particular meal.