Niuean cuisine

Last updated

Niuean cuisine
Country or region Niue
National dish Takihi
National drink Coconut water

Niue is an island in the Southern Pacific, mostly inhabited by Polynesians. [1] The plantations are mostly filled with manioc, taro and breadfruit, but banana trees can be found. The wide range of exotic plants in Niue includes taros, pawpaw, coconuts, bananas, yams, cassavas and breadfruits: All are intensively used in the local cuisine. [2]

Contents

The most significant ingredient when discussing the Niue's recipes are the fish and the vegetables. The staple ingredient is fish. Fish is consumed roasted, grilled, raw, and in soups or stews. There is a wide spectrum of edible and enjoyable fish species: tuna (ahi), dolphinfish (mahi mahi), parrot fish (pakati), barracuda (ono), coconut crabs and crayfish. [3] [4] In less populated areas, people prefer to eat vegetable meals, like taro roots or manioc. [5]

Dishes

An important event is the annual village show days, where people from the 14 villages gather to show their local cooking and culinary culture, for a great exchange of regional cuisines. A big umu (earth oven) is set for the tourists, who can try the delicacies from all of Niue's cuisines.

In the central town, Alofi, local markets take place two times every week. All the local fruits, vegetables, fish and seafood can be found there. Among the most popular items from the market are uga, taro, yams, cassava and breadfruit. Even though these tropical plants can be found all over the region, there are a few differences between the central town Alofi and the villages.

In Alofi, Polynesian and European food can be found in the restaurants, besides the traditional Niue ones. In the villages, people usually consume only the local plants and fish; the food is mostly homemade, using the earth ovens. [8]

Preparation methods for Niuean cooking

The visual attractiveness of the dish is important, and a balance between colours and proportion differentiates. Each traditional dish has a special cooking method, which is more or less general in all of Niue's regions. Meat is one of the main elements of most Niue dishes, and cured and smoked hams are often included. Niue cuisine uses elements from cooking traditions borrowed from their neighbours and developed from their own traditional dishes.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazilian cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of Brazil

Brazilian cuisine is the set of cooking practices and traditions of Brazil, and is characterized by European, Amerindian, African, and Asian influences. It varies greatly by region, reflecting the country's mix of native and immigrant populations, and its continental size as well. This has created a national cuisine marked by the preservation of regional differences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poi (food)</span> Traditional staple food in the Polynesian diet

Poi is a traditional staple food in the Polynesian diet, made from taro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puerto Rican cuisine</span> Food and drinks from Puerto Rico


Puerto Rican cuisine has its roots in the cooking traditions and practices of native Taínos, Spaniard and African ancestors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinidad and Tobago cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago has a unique history and its food is influenced by Indian-South Asian, West African, Creole, European, American, Chinese, Amerindian, and Latin American culinary styles. Trinidadian and Tobagonian food is dominated by a wide selection of dishes, most notably, doubles, pelau, callaloo and curried crab and dumplings. Trinidad and Tobago is also known for its prepared provisions, such as dasheen, sweet potato, eddoes, cassava, yam, soups and stews, also known as blue food across the country. Corresponding to the Blue Food Day event held annually in Trinidad and Tobago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taro</span> Species of plant

Taro is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in African, Oceanic, East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian cultures. Taro is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haupia</span> Polynesian coconut milk pudding

Haupia is the Hawaiian name for a traditional coconut pudding found throughout Polynesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghanaian cuisine</span> Overview of culinary traditions of Ghana

Ghanaian cuisines refer to the meals of the Ghanaian people. The main dishes of Ghana are organized around starchy staple foods, which goes with either sauce or soup accompanied with a source of protein. The main ingredients for the vast majority of soups and stews are; tomatoes, hot peppers and onions. Most Ghanaian soups and stews are red or orange in appearance as a result of the main ingredients used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maldivian cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of the Maldives

Maldivian cuisine, also called Dhivehi cuisine, is the cuisine of the Republic of Maldives and of Minicoy, India. The traditional cuisine of Maldivians is based on three main items and their derivatives: coconuts, fish and starches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanuatuan cuisine</span>

The cuisine of Vanuatu incorporates fish, root vegetables such as taro and yams, fruits, and vegetables. Most island families grow food in their gardens, and food shortages are rare. Papayas, pineapples, mangoes, plantains, and sweet potatoes are abundant through much of the year. Coconut milk and cream are used to flavor many dishes. Most food is cooked using hot stones or through boiling and steaming; little food is fried. Since Vanuatu is one of the few South Pacific regions influenced by the outside world, Vanuatu's food has a multicultural nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fijian cuisine</span> Food culture of the Fijian Islands

Fijian cuisine has long-consisted of primarily foraged and farm-grown food. Although rice, wheat, and tea all became staples during Fiji's colonial era, native Fijians still eat primarily tubers and coconuts. The cuisine of Fiji is known for its seafood and various green vegetables, including ''ota'', a young forest fern, and ''bele'', a plant that resembles spinach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassava-based dishes</span>

A great variety of cassava-based dishes are consumed in the regions where cassava is cultivated, and the ingredient is included many national or ethnic specialities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pascuense cuisine</span>

Pascuense cuisine, otherwise known as Easter Island cuisine or Rapa Nui cuisine incorporates the influences of the indigenous Rapa Nui people and Latin America. Notable ingredients include seafood such as fish, octopus (heke), eel, sea snails (pipi) and crustaceans (lobster), as well as sweet potato, taro, banana, pineapple, coconut, pumpkin, and poultry, pork and lamb meat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of Solomon Islands</span>

The cuisine of Solomon Islands has developed over 5,000 years of inhabitation and external influences. From the Spanish, the islands received cattle; from the Asians and Indians, spices, exotic vegetables and fruit.

The Cayman Islands are a group of islands situated in the Caribbean Sea just between Cuba and Honduras. After being colonized first by Jamaica and then by the British, Cayman Islands remained under British dependency since 1962. Traditional Cayman Islands cuisine is very tied to Jamaican cuisine and they also kept British influences in their cooking, but you can as well find a large variety of international dishes with a local twist. As for traditional dishes the main ingredients are coconut, plantain, cassava, yams, rice and peas. Jamaican cuisine enriched Cayman’s cuisine by offering a large variety of spices such as jerk, curry and other exotic seasonings. The humid soil provides a large variety of exotic fruits and vegetables such as yellow squash, avocados, callaloo, cassava, calabash, spring onions, pineapples, tomatoes, peas, chili, peppers a great range of citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits, bananas and plantains, sweet potatoes, yams and mangoes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Run down</span> Stew dish

Run down, also referred to as rundown, run dun, rondón, fling-me-far, and fling mi for, is a stew dish in Jamaican cuisine and Tobago cuisine. The traditional Jamaican dish is eaten in several Latin American countries that share a coast with the Caribbean Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of São Tomé and Príncipe</span> Culinary traditions of São Tomé and Príncipe

Santomean cuisine comprises the cuisine, dishes and foods of São Tomé and Príncipe, a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. The country consists of two archipelagos around the two main islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about 140 kilometres (87 mi) apart and about 250 and 225 kilometres, respectively, off the northwestern coast of Gabon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lūʻau (food)</span> Traditional Polynesian dish of cooked of taro leaves and stem

Lūʻau, Luʻau, Laulau, , Rourou, Rukau, Fāfā, Hāhā, and Palusami are all related dishes found throughout Polynesia based on the use of taro leaves as a primary ingredient. While taro generally is known as a root vegetable for its starchy corms, the leaves are consumed as well. The base recipe is vegetarian, historically. Most often, coconut milk was added, and later meat or seafood. The texture of the dish range from a thick soup to a dense cake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Native cuisine of Hawaii</span> Traditional Hawaiian cuisine

Native Hawaiian cuisine refers to the traditional Hawaiian foods that predate contact with Europeans and immigration from East and Southeast Asia. The cuisine consisted of a mix of indigenous plants and animals as well as plants and animals introduced by Polynesian voyagers, who became the Native Hawaiians.

References

  1. "Niue". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency . Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  2. "Farms in Niue". NiueTotal. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  3. "Traditional food treats". Internet Niue. 29 November 2010. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  4. "Niue - Fishing". Travel Online. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  5. "Niue Lifestyle". Pacific Island Travel. Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  6. "Day 53: 5 July 2011". Mark Li Travel Journal. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  7. Wolfgang B. Sperlich (1997). Niue Language Dictionary. University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dept. of Linguistics. p. 251. ISBN   9780824819330.
  8. "Show Day and Takai". Living Heritage. Retrieved 4 August 2012.