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🇹🇴 Traditional dishes from Tonga

3 dishes people actually cook in Tonga: what they are, how long they take, and what you need to buy.

🇹🇴

The dart landed on Tonga. Drag to spin the planet.

Lu pulu

120 min · medium · 6 ingredients

Lu pulu, a traditional dish from Tonga

Savor the rich flavors of Tongan Lu pulu!

  • 400 g taro leaves
  • 400 ml coconut milk
  • 500 g beef
  • 1 onion
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Ota ika

30 min · easy · 8 ingredients

Ota ika, a traditional dish from Tonga

Fresh and zesty Tongan fish salad bursting with flavor!

  • 500 g fresh tuna
  • 100 ml lime juice
  • 200 ml coconut cream
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 onion
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper

Palusami

90 min · medium · 5 ingredients

Palusami, a traditional dish from Tonga

Savor the rich flavors of Tongan coconut and taro.

  • 500 g taro leaves
  • 400 ml coconut milk
  • 1 onion
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 200 g fish (tuna or mackerel)

What do people eat in Tonga?

The three dishes from Tonga documented in Copper are Lu pulu, Ota ika and Palusami. Onion and coconut milk each appear in more than one recipe. Two of the three are baked. Two of the three need an oven. Between them they use 13 different ingredients.

What ingredients do you need for cooking from Tonga?

The three recipes need 13 ingredients between them, of which 3 are shared by more than one dish. Taro leaves is the hardest to find: of the 588 dishes in Copper's atlas, 2 use taro leaves. Every ingredient list on this page is complete, with quantities, and free to read.

How long do recipes from Tonga take?

Ota ika is the quickest at 30 minutes. Lu pulu is the longest at 120 minutes, most of it unattended. The median is 90 minutes — a weekend dish rather than a weeknight one.

Which dish from Tonga is easiest to make at home?

Ota ika is rated easy — start there. The full method is on its recipe page, step by step, free to read.

Get the step-by-step recipes