AI-generated image
Feke
Tongan octopus simmered in coconut cream
Feke is Tongan octopus cooked slowly in coconut cream with onion until meltingly tender, a dish for Sunday 'umu lunches and feasts in Nuku'alofa and the Ha'apai islands. Some families bake it wrapped in taro leaves as lū feke; this stovetop version is simpler. The octopus is first simmered on its own until tender, then finished in the rich, salty coconut sauce. A common mistake is boiling the octopus hard, which makes it rubbery; it must barely simmer. Chef's tip: frozen octopus is often more tender than fresh, because freezing breaks down the tough fibres.
- Total time
- 105 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 ⅝ lb octopus, cleanedthawed if frozen
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 ¾ cups coconut cream
- 1 onionsliced
- 2 cloves garlicchopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Fresh ingredients (4)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/3 doneStep 1: Put 2 ⅝ lb octopus, cleaned and 1 bay leaf in a large pot, cover with water, bring to a simmer and cook very gently, covered, for 60–75 minutes until a knife slides easily into the thickest part of a tentacle. Drain and cut into 3 cm pieces.
75 minStep 2: Warm 1 ¾ cups coconut cream in a pan with 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic and 1 tsp salt and simmer for 5 minutes.
5 minStep 3: Add the octopus and simmer gently for 10 minutes so it absorbs the sauce. Stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice and serve with taro, cassava or rice.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 24 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does feke take?
- About 105 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 90 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Singapore chilli crab
Chilli crab was first sold from a pushcart on the Kallang river in the 1950s and is now the dish visitors queue for along Singapore's East Coast seafood strip. Big mud crabs are cut up, wok-fried and simmered in a thick, sweet, tangy and gently hot sauce of chilli, tomato and garlic, which is then silked with beaten egg. Everyone eats with their hands and mops up the sauce with fried or steamed mantou buns. It is a weekend or celebration meal, messy and loud. Buy crabs live or freshly cooked the same day from a fishmonger you trust. Discard any live crab that doesn't move, smells of ammonia or has a cracked, leaking shell. The common mistake is boiling the sauce after adding the egg, which scrambles it into lumps; pour it in a thin stream over a low heat. Chef's tip: ask the fishmonger to clean and quarter the crab for you, and crack each claw lightly with the back of a cleaver so the sauce soaks in.
Singaporean
Chraime
Friday night in Moroccan and Libyan Jewish homes, from Casablanca to Tripoli and now Paris and Tel Aviv, often begins with a plate of chraime before the main course. Thick fish steaks simmer in a brick-red sauce built from a frightening amount of garlic, sweet and hot paprika, chilli, caraway and cumin, loosened with oil and a squeeze of lemon. It is spicy, garlicky and very savoury, and the oily sauce begs to be mopped up with challah or other good bread. It is also eaten cold the next day. Chef's tip: cook the spices in the oil over a low heat until they smell toasty but not dark; burnt paprika tastes acrid and you cannot rescue it.
Moroccan
Rhode Island clam cakes
At beach shacks along Narragansett Bay and in Galilee, clam cakes are bought by the paper bag, half a dozen at a time, to dunk in a cup of clear clam chowder. They are not patties but craggy, golden fritters, crisp outside and soft inside, studded with chopped quahog clams. Chef's tip: use the clam juice as part of the liquid; it puts the sea flavour into every bite of batter.
American