Fiji

Cassava root peeled, cut into large chunks, and boiled in water until fully tender — a neutral, starchy everyday staple served alongside proteins, curries, and other Pacific side dishes.

Whole or large-chunked taro corms (Colocasia esculenta) simmered in plain water until completely tender throughout, served as the primary starch staple of Pacific island meals.

A dense, moist baked cake made from freshly grated or frozen-grated cassava bound with eggs, sweetened with sugar, and enriched with coconut cream, producing a firm yet yielding chewy crumb.

A localized Fijian-Chinese stir-fry of meat and mixed vegetables bound in a glossy oyster-and-soy sauce, often with glass noodles, sold as an everyday takeaway dish.

A soupy cooked-pulse preparation — most commonly yellow split peas simmered with turmeric until fully dissolved — finished with a hot tarka of whole spices (cumin, mustard seeds, dried chili) bloomed in fat and poured over the pot.

Duruka is a seasonal Fijian delicacy consisting of young wild sugarcane shoots cooked in coconut milk until tender, representing the essence of Pacific island seasonal cookery.

A bone-in chicken braise from Indo-Fijian cuisine in which a tomato-and-onion masala is enriched with coconut milk and fragrant spices, producing a richly sauced curry served with roti or rice.

An everyday Fijian main of cheap, fatty lamb belly riblets (flaps) — stewed in a seasoned tomato-and-onion sauce or fried — eaten with rice or root vegetables.

Fish curry is a savory, spiced stew featuring firm fish fillets simmered in a coconut‑turmeric‑tomato‑based sauce.

A classic iTaukei Fijian dish of whole or filleted fish simmered in rich coconut cream with aromatics.

A ceremonial and social Pacific beverage made by grinding or pounding the dried or fresh root of Piper methysticum, then kneading and straining the root mass in cold water to yield an earthy, mildly sedating, muddy-brown drink consumed communally.

A Pacific Islands cold seafood preparation of fresh white-fleshed fish acid-cured in citrus juice until opaque, then dressed with coconut cream and finished with chilli, onion, and aromatics.

A Fijian communal feast in which whole proteins (pork, chicken, fish) and starchy root vegetables are wrapped in banana or taro leaves and slow-cooked in a sealed underground earth pit lined with fire-heated volcanic or river stones.

A category of Indo-diaspora confections — milk-solid fudges like barfi, sugar-syrup-soaked jalebi, and ladoo — made by indentured-labor descendants for festivals and weddings.

A pan-Polynesian dish of young taro leaves packed with thick coconut cream and sealed inside banana-leaf parcels, then baked until the leaves are completely tender and the cream sets into a rich, cohesive, custard-like filling.

Roti is an unleavened whole‑wheat flatbread cooked on a hot griddle, traditionally served as a daily staple accompaniment in Indian diaspora communities across the Caribbean, Pacific and East Africa.

An everyday Fijian side of young taro leaves slowly cooked down in coconut cream until silky and tender.

A Fijian dessert of soft flour dumplings simmered or served in a sweet coconut cream sauce.

A Pacific Islander pudding of grated cassava and coconut, wrapped and steamed, then bathed in a caramelized coconut sauce.