COPPERFa'alifu fa'i recipe
Green bananas boiled and finished in a salted coconut cream and onion sauce, a starchy Samoan side rather than a dessert.
Ingredients
- 8 green bananas
- 400 ml coconut cream
- 1 onion
- 2 tsp salt
- 1500 ml water
How to make Fa'alifu fa'i
- Peel 8 green, unripe bananas.
- Boil them in 1.5 l of salted water for about 20 minutes, until a knife goes in easily.
- Meanwhile, finely chop 1 onion and simmer it in 400 ml of coconut cream with 2 tsp of salt for 5 minutes, stirring.
- Drain the bananas and add them to the coconut sauce.
- Simmer together for 5 minutes, turning the bananas so they are coated.
- Serve hot as a side to fish or meat.
What is Fa'alifu fa'i?
Fa'alifu fa'i is a traditional dish from Samoa, simmered in one pot, and takes about 40 minutes from start to finish. It is built around coconut cream. The recipe below uses 5 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Fa'alifu fa'i take?
At 40 minutes it is quicker than 89% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. Copper's atlas has 22 dishes built on coconut cream. The method runs to 6 steps, the longest being 20 minutes.
Any tips for making Fa'alifu fa'i?
Use green, unripe bananas and boil them until just tender before they go into the coconut cream and onion sauce.
How Fa'alifu fa'i compares
Green bananas appears in only 2 other dishes in the atlas.
Cooked with the same thing elsewhere
Other traditional dishes built on coconut cream, from other countries.
- Kokoda 🇫🇯 Fiji
- Lovo 🇫🇯 Fiji
- Kón 🇫🇲 Micronesia
- Fish amok 🇰🇭 Cambodia
- Breadfruit pudding 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands
- Mashed taro 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands
Copper documents Samoa alongside 197 other countries. Every recipe is free to read, with the full ingredient list and every step.