28 Dishes

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Ceviche

Ceviche, also cebiche, seviche, or sebiche (spanish pronunciation: [seˈβitʃe]) is a south american seafood dish originally from what is the modern day country of peru, typically made from fresh raw fish cured in fresh citrus juices, most commonly lemon or lime. it is also spiced with ají, chili peppers or other seasonings and julienned red onions, salt, and coriander are also added. the name originates from the quechuan word siwichi, which means fresh or tender fish.because the dish is eaten raw, and not cooked with heat, it must be prepared fresh and consumed immediately to minimize the risk of food poisoning. ceviche is often eaten as an appetizer; if eaten as a main dish, it is usually accompanied by side dishes that complement its flavors, such as sweet potato, lettuce, maize, avocado, or cooking banana.the dish is popular in the pacific coastal regions of western south america. the origin of ceviche is ancient incan which today corresponds to the modern day country of peru. the technique of macerating raw fish and meat in vinegar, citrus, and spices (escabeche) was brought to the americas from spain and is linked to the muslim heritage in spanish cuisine. however, archeological records suggest that something resembling ceviche may have been in the western south america as early as two thousand years ago. the dominant position lima held through four centuries as the capital of the viceroyalty of peru allowed for popular dishes such as ceviche to be brought to other spanish administrative provinces in the region, and in time they became a part of local cuisine by incorporating regional flavors and styles.

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Corned beef and rice

Corned beef, or salt beef in some of the commonwealth of nations, is salt-cured brisket of beef. the term comes from the treatment of the meat with large-grained rock salt, also called "corns" of salt. sometimes, sugar and spices are added to corned beef recipes. corned beef is featured as an ingredient in many cuisines. most recipes include nitrates, which convert the natural myoglobin in beef to nitrosomyoglobin, giving it a pink color. nitrates and nitrites reduce the risk of dangerous botulism during curing by inhibiting the growth of clostridium botulinum bacteria spores, but have been linked to increased cancer risk in mice. beef cured without nitrates or nitrites has a gray color, and is sometimes called "new england corned beef".corned beef was a popular meal throughout numerous wars, including world war i and world war ii, during which fresh meat was rationed. it also remains popular worldwide as an ingredient in a variety of regional dishes and as a common part in modern field rations of various armed forces around the world.

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Fish and rice

Sashimi with steamed rice, also uses cooked fish

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Palusami

Laulau, otherwise known as lū in tonga, palusami in fiji and samoa and rukau in the cook islands, is a polynesian dish consisting of cooked taro leaves containing fillings such as pork, fish or coconut cream. in old hawaiʻi, laulau was assembled by taking a few leaves and placing a few pieces of fish and pork in the center. in modern times, the dish uses taro leaves, salted butterfish, and either pork, beef, or chicken and is usually steamed on the stove. laulau is a typical plate lunch dish and is usually served with a side of rice and macaroni salad.in the classical preparation, the ends of the luau leaf are folded and wrapped again in the leaf. when ready, all the laulau is placed in an underground oven, called an imu. hot rocks are placed on the dish and covered in banana leaves and buried again. a few hours later the laulau is ready to eat.

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Pulaka leaf au gratin

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Quiche

Quiche ( keesh) is a french tart consisting of pastry crust filled with savoury custard and pieces of cheese, meat, seafood or vegetables. a well-known variant is quiche lorraine, which includes lardons or bacon. quiche may be served hot, warm or cold.

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Roast chicken

Roast chicken is chicken prepared as food by roasting whether in a home kitchen, over a fire, or with a rotisserie (rotary spit). generally, the chicken is roasted with its own fat and juices by circulating the meat during roasting, and therefore, are usually cooked exposed to fire or heat with some type of rotary grill so that the circulation of these fats and juices is as efficient as possible. roast chicken is a dish that appears in a wide variety of cuisines worldwide.

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Sashimi

Sashimi (刺身, english: sə-shee-mee, japanese: [saɕimiꜜ]) is a japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce.

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Tuna and taro patties

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Tuna coconut curry

Tuna in curried coconut cream

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Umu

An earth oven, ground oven or cooking pit is one of the simplest and most ancient cooking structures. at its most basic, an earth oven is a pit in the ground used to trap heat and bake, smoke, or steam food. earth ovens have been used in many places and cultures in the past, and the presence of such cooking pits is a key sign of human settlement often sought by archaeologists. earth ovens remain a common tool for cooking large quantities of food where no equipment is available. they have been used in various civilizations around the world and are still commonly found in the pacific region to date. to bake food, the fire is built, then allowed to burn down to a smoulder. the food is then placed in the oven and covered. this covered area can be used to bake bread or other various items. steaming food in an earth oven covers a similar process. fire-heated rocks are put into a pit and are covered with green vegetation to add moisture and large quantities of food. more green vegetation and sometimes water are then added, if more moisture is needed. finally, a covering of earth is added over everything. the food in the pit can take up to several hours to a full day to cook, regardless of the dry or wet method used. today, many communities still use cooking pits for ceremonial or celebratory occasions, including the indigenous fijian lovo, the hawaiian imu, the māori hāngi, the mexican barbacoa, and the new england clam bake. the central asian tandoor use the method primarily for uncovered, live-fire baking, which is a transitional design between the earth oven and the horizontal-plan masonry oven. this method is essentially a permanent earth oven made out of clay or firebrick with a constantly burning, very hot fire in the bottom.

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Black noddy

The black noddy or white-capped noddy (anous minutus) is a seabird from the family laridae. it is a medium-sized species of tern with black plumage and a white cap. it closely resembles the lesser noddy (anous tenuirostris) with which it was at one time considered conspecific. the black noddy has slightly darker plumage and dark rather than pale lores.

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Breadfruit

Breadfruit (artocarpus altilis) is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family (moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of artocarpus camansi originating in new guinea, the maluku islands, and the philippines. it was initially spread to oceania via the austronesian expansion. it was further spread to other tropical regions of the world during the colonial era. british and french navigators introduced a few polynesian seedless varieties to caribbean islands during the late 18th century. today it is grown in some 90 countries throughout south and southeast asia, the pacific ocean, the caribbean, central america and africa. its name is derived from the texture of the moderately ripe fruit when cooked, similar to freshly baked bread and having a potato-like flavor.the trees have been widely planted in tropical regions, including lowland central america, northern south america, and the caribbean. in addition to the fruit serving as a staple food in many cultures, the light, sturdy timber of breadfruit has been used for outriggers, ships, and houses in the tropics. breadfruit is closely related to artocarpus camansi (breadnut or seeded breadfruit) of new guinea, the maluku islands, and the philippines, artocarpus blancoi (tipolo or antipolo) of the philippines, and artocarpus mariannensis (dugdug) of micronesia, all of which are sometimes also referred to as "breadfruit". it is also closely related to the jackfruit.

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Clam

Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. the word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. clams have two shells of equal size connected by two adductor muscles and have a powerful burrowing foot. they live in both freshwater and marine environments; in salt water they prefer to burrow down into the mud and the turbidity of the water required varies with species and location; the greatest diversity of these is in north america.clams in the culinary sense do not live attached to a substrate (whereas oysters and mussels do) and do not live near the bottom (whereas scallops do). in culinary usage, clams are commonly eaten marine bivalves, as in clam digging and the resulting soup, clam chowder. many edible clams such as palourde clams are ovoid or triangular; however, razor clams have an elongated parallel-sided shell, suggesting an old-fashioned straight razor.some clams have life cycles of only one year, while at least one may be over 500 years old. all clams have two calcareous shells or valves joined near a hinge with a flexible ligament and all are filter feeders.

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Coconut crab

The coconut crab (birgus latro) is a species of terrestrial hermit crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief. it is the largest terrestrial arthropod in the world, with a weight of up to 4.1 kg (9 lb). it can grow to up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in width from the tip of one leg to the tip of another. it is found on islands across the indian ocean, and parts of the pacific ocean as far east as the gambier islands and pitcairn islands, similar to the distribution of the coconut palm; it has been extirpated from most areas with a significant human population, including mainland australia and madagascar. coconut crabs also live off the coast of africa near zanzibar. the coconut crab is the only species of the genus birgus, and is related to the other terrestrial hermit crabs of the genus coenobita. it shows a number of adaptations to life on land. juvenile coconut crabs use empty gastropod shells for protection like other hermit crabs, but the adults develop a tough exoskeleton on their abdomens and stop carrying a shell. coconut crabs have organs known as branchiostegal lungs, which they use for breathing instead of their vestigial gills. after the juvenile stage, they will drown if immersed in water for too long. they have an acute sense of smell which they use to find potential food sources, and which has developed convergently with that of insects. adult coconut crabs feed primarily on fleshy fruits, nuts, seeds, and the pith of fallen trees, but they will eat carrion and other organic matter opportunistically. anything left unattended on the ground is a potential source of food, which they will investigate and may carry away – thereby getting the alternative name of "robber crab." the species is popularly associated with the coconut palm, yet coconuts are not a significant part of its diet. although it lives in a burrow, the crab has been filmed climbing coconut and pandanus trees. no film shows a crab selectively picking coconut fruit, though they might dislodge ripe fruit that otherwise would fall naturally. climbing is an immediate escape route (if too far from the burrow) to avoid predation by large sea birds (when young) or by humans, or cannibalism (at any age) by bigger, older crabs. mating occurs on dry land, but the females return to the edge of the sea to release their fertilized eggs, and then retreat back up the beach. the larvae that hatch are planktonic for 3–4 weeks, before settling to the sea floor, entering a gastropod shell and returning to dry land. sexual maturity is reached after about 5 years, and the total lifespan may be over 60 years. in the 3–4 weeks that the larvae remain at sea, their chances of reaching another suitable location is enhanced if a floating life support system avails itself to them. examples of the systems that provide such opportunities include floating logs and rafts of marine or terrestrial vegetation. similarly, floating coconuts can be a very significant part of the crab's dispersal options. fossils of this crab date back to the miocene.

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Crayfish

Spiny lobsters, also known as langustas, langouste, or rock lobsters, are a family (palinuridae) of about 60 species of achelate crustaceans, in the decapoda reptantia. spiny lobsters are also, especially in australia, new zealand, ireland, south africa, and the bahamas, called crayfish, sea crayfish, or crawfish ("kreef" in south africa), terms which elsewhere are reserved for freshwater crayfish.

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Pala fish

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Pork

Many families raise their own pigs, typically eaten at celebrations

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Sea birds

Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. while seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations. the first seabirds evolved in the cretaceous period, and modern seabird families emerged in the paleogene. in general, seabirds live longer, breed later and have fewer young than other birds do, but they invest a great deal of time in their young. most species nest in colonies, which can vary in size from a few dozen birds to millions. many species are famous for undertaking long annual migrations, crossing the equator or circumnavigating the earth in some cases. they feed both at the ocean's surface and below it, and even feed on each other. seabirds can be highly pelagic, coastal, or in some cases spend a part of the year away from the sea entirely. seabirds and humans have a long history together: they have provided food to hunters, guided fishermen to fishing stocks and led sailors to land. many species are currently threatened by human activities, such as from oil spills, getting trapped in nets, and by climate change and severe weather. conservation efforts include the establishment of wildlife refugees and adjustments to fishing techniques.

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Seafood

Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus and squid), crustaceans (e.g. shrimp, crabs, and lobster), and echinoderms (e.g. sea cucumbers and sea urchins). historically, marine mammals such as cetaceans (whales and dolphins) as well as seals have been eaten as food, though that happens to a lesser extent in modern times. edible sea plants such as some seaweeds and microalgae are widely eaten as sea vegetables around the world, especially in asia. seafood is an important source of (animal) protein in many diets around the world, especially in coastal areas. semi-vegetarians who consume seafood as the only source of meat are said to adhere to pescetarianism. the harvesting of wild seafood is usually known as fishing or hunting, while the cultivation and farming of seafood is known as aquaculture and fish farming (in the case of fish). most of the seafood harvest is consumed by humans, but a significant proportion is used as fish food to farm other fish or rear farm animals. some seafoods (i.e. kelp) are used as food for other plants (a fertilizer). in these ways, seafoods are used to produce further food for human consumption. also, products such as fish oil and spirulina tablets are extracted from seafoods. some seafood is fed to aquarium fish, or used to feed domestic pets such as cats. a small proportion is used in medicine, or is used industrially for nonfood purposes (e.g. leather).

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Sweet potato

The sweet potato or sweetpotato (ipomoea batatas) is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, convolvulaceae. its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. the young shoots and leaves are sometimes eaten as greens. cultivars of the sweet potato have been bred to bear tubers with flesh and skin of various colors. sweet potato is only distantly related to the common potato (solanum tuberosum), both being in the order solanales. although darker sweet potatoes are often referred to as "yams" in parts of north america, the species is not a true yam, which are monocots in the order dioscoreales.sweet potato is native to the tropical regions of the americas. of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of convolvulaceae, i. batatas is the only crop plant of major importance—some others are used locally (e.g., i. aquatica "kangkong"), but many are poisonous. the genus ipomoea that contains the sweet potato also includes several garden flowers called morning glories, though that term is not usually extended to i. batatas. some cultivars of i. batatas are grown as ornamental plants under the name tuberous morning glory, and used in a horticultural context.

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Tuna

A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe thunnini, a subgrouping of the scombridae (mackerel) family. the thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max length: 50 cm or 1.6 ft, weight: 1.8 kg or 4 lb) up to the atlantic bluefin tuna (max length: 4.6 m or 15 ft, weight: 684 kg or 1,508 lb), which averages 2 m (6.6 ft) and is believed to live up to 50 years. tuna, opah and mackerel sharks are the only species of fish that can maintain a body temperature higher than that of the surrounding water. an active and agile predator, the tuna has a sleek, streamlined body, and is among the fastest-swimming pelagic fish – the yellowfin tuna, for example, is capable of speeds of up to 75 km/h (47 mph). greatly inflated speeds can be found in early scientific reports and are still widely reported in the popular literature.found in warm seas, the tuna is commercially fished extensively as a food fish, and is popular as a bluewater game fish. as a result of overfishing, some tuna species, such as the southern bluefin tuna, are threatened with extinction.

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Turtle

Turtles are an order of reptiles known as testudines, characterized by a shell developed mainly from their ribs. modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the side-necked turtles and hidden neck turtles, which differ in the way the head retracts. there are 360 living and recently extinct species of turtles, including land-dwelling tortoises and freshwater terrapins. they are found on most continents, some islands and, in the case of sea turtles, much of the ocean. like other reptiles, birds, and mammals, they breathe air and do not lay eggs underwater, although many species live in or around water. genetic evidence typically places them in close relation to crocodilians and birds. turtle shells are made mostly of bone; the upper part is the domed carapace, while the underside is the flatter plastron or belly-plate. its outer surface is covered in scales made of keratin, the material of hair, horns, and claws. the carapace bones develop from ribs that grow sideways and develop into broad flat plates that join up to cover the body. turtles are ectotherms or "cold-blooded", meaning that their internal temperature varies with their direct environment. they are generally opportunistic omnivores and mainly feed on plants and animals with limited movements. many turtles migrate short distances seasonally. sea turtles are the only reptiles that migrate long distances to lay their eggs on a favored beach. turtles have appeared in myths and folktales around the world. some terrestrial and freshwater species are widely kept as pets. turtles have been hunted for their meat, for use in traditional medicine, and for their shells. sea turtles are often killed accidentally as bycatch in fishing nets. turtle habitats around the world are being destroyed. as a result of these pressures, many species are threatened with extinction.

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Akiaki

The white tern or common white tern (gygis alba) is a small seabird found across the tropical oceans of the world. it is sometimes known as the fairy tern although this name is potentially confusing as it is also the common name of sternula nereis. other names for the species include angel tern and white noddy in english, and manu-o-kū in hawaiian. the little white tern (gygis microrhyncha), previously considered a subspecies of the white tern (gygis alba microrhyncha), is now recognised as a separate species.

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Coconut rice

Coconut rice is a dish prepared by soaking white rice in coconut milk or cooking it with coconut flakes. as both the coconut and the rice-plant are commonly found in the tropics all-around the world, coconut rice too is found in many cultures throughout the world, spanning across the equator from the indian subcontinent, southeast asia, south america, central america, east africa, the caribbean and oceania.

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Rice

Rice is the seed of the grass species oryza sativa (asian rice) or less commonly oryza glaberrima (african rice). the name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera zizania and porteresia, both wild and domesticated, although the term may also be used for primitive or uncultivated varieties of oryza. as a cereal grain, domesticated rice is the most widely consumed staple food for over half of the world's human population, especially in asia and africa. it is the agricultural commodity with the third-highest worldwide production, after sugarcane and maize. since sizable portions of sugarcane and maize crops are used for purposes other than human consumption, rice is the most important food crop with regard to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one-fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by humans. there are many varieties of rice and culinary preferences tend to vary regionally. the traditional method for cultivating rice is flooding the fields while, or after, setting the young seedlings. this simple method requires sound irrigation planning but reduces the growth of less robust weed and pest plants that have no submerged growth state, and deters vermin. while flooding is not mandatory for the cultivation of rice, all other methods of irrigation require higher effort in weed and pest control during growth periods and a different approach for fertilizing the soil. rice, a monocot, is normally grown as an annual plant, although in tropical areas it can survive as a perennial and can produce a ratoon crop for up to 30 years. rice cultivation is well-suited to countries and regions with low labor costs and high rainfall, as it is labor-intensive to cultivate and requires ample water. however, rice can be grown practically anywhere, even on a steep hill or mountain area with the use of water-controlling terrace systems. although its parent species are native to asia and certain parts of africa, centuries of trade and exportation have made it commonplace in many cultures worldwide. production and consumption of rice is estimated to have been responsible for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2010.

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Okra and lamb stew

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Pulaka leaf and coconut soup