Palau

🇫🇯Fiji

Babakau

Yeasted dough cut into triangles and deep fried until puffed and hollow, eaten plain, with butter and jam, or split around a curry.

🇵🇼Palau

Beldakl

Fish cooked in water as a simple soup; a traditional Palauan preparation that highlights the freshness of the fish; the most basic form of Palauan fish cookery; often seasoned with ginger and salt.

🇵🇼Palau

Billum

Billum is a Palauan tapioca-and-coconut pudding set into a soft, sliceable sweet; the native starch gives it a gently elastic texture.

🇫🇯Fiji

Cassava Chips

Tavioka chips

Cassava sliced thin and fried into hard, salty chips, sold in bags at markets and bus stands.

🇵🇬Papua New Guinea

Cassava Pudding

Poudine manioc

Grated cassava, coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla bake into dense, translucent-chewy pudding slices served across island tables.

🇬🇺Guam

Chamorro Flatbread

Titiyas

A Chamorro flatbread derived from the Spanish 'tortilla'; made from corn, wheat flour, or other starchy plants; common forms include harina (flour, sweetened), mai'es (corn), and faddang (pandanus nut); cooked on a flat iron pan (kommat); an essential item on the fiesta table; used like a chip to scoop up kelaguen.

🇵🇼Palau

Cheled

General Palauan term for raw or barely cooked seafood including clams, shells, sea cucumber, sea cucumber intestine, chiton, and trochus; a traditional Palauan preparation that showcases the freshness and variety of the catch; similar to sashimi but with a wider range of seafood.

🇳🇨New Caledonia

Coconut Crab

Unga

Large land crab prized as a delicacy, especially on the outer islands of the Cook Islands; protected in some areas due to declining populations; a rare and sought-after island food.

🇵🇼Babeldaob (Main Island Traditional Palau), Palau

Delul Kukau

Taro baked in an open fire without water; a traditional feast food from Airai and other parts of Palau; the simplest and most ancient form of taro preparation; the fire gives a smoky, charred exterior and a soft, starchy interior.

🇵🇼Palau

Demok

Taro leaves simmered in coconut milk, sometimes with coconut crab or fish meat; the national soup of Palau; a traditional dish that showcases the Palauan reliance on taro and coconut; served at everyday meals and celebrations.

🇵🇼Palau

Fasul

Rich broth soup with chicken or fish, ginger, garlic, and vegetables (green papaya, leaves, sweet potato, squash); sometimes with coconut milk; a hearty Palauan soup that combines local produce with Asian seasoning techniques.

🇬🇺Guam

Fina'denne'

The essential Chamorro condiment; as ubiquitous in Guam as ketchup in America; a spicy sauce made with soy sauce, vinegar, onions, garlic, and hot peppers; spooned over meat, poultry, fish, and rice or used as a dipping sauce; found in every household and restaurant; variations include lemon-based and tuba vinegar versions.

🇫🇯Fiji

Green coconut

Bu

A young drinking coconut opened with a machete at the roadside and drunk straight from the shell, then split so the soft flesh can be scooped.

🇫🇯Fiji

Gulgula

Small sweet fritters of flour, banana and cardamom fried into dark balls, made in Indo-Fijian homes for tea and prayer days.

🇵🇼Outer Islands (Peleliu / Angaur / Sonsorol / Hatohobei), Palau

Hasi

Sweet fresh sap tapped from coconut trees; a refreshing drink from the outer islands of Sonsorol and Hatohobei; can be drunk fresh or fermented into hasi mwane (coconut sap wine); a traditional outer island beverage.

🇵🇬Papua New Guinea

Hibiscus spinach

Bele

Hibiscus spinach (Abelmoschus manihot) is a tender, slightly mucilaginous Pacific leafy green known as bele, aibika, pele, and island cabbage, usually cooked with coconut milk or added to soups and stews.

🇵🇬Papua New Guinea

Kaukau

Sweet potato — the everyday starch of the PNG Highlands, baked, boiled, or roasted, then mashed with coconut milk, garlic, and ginger; eaten at almost every meal.

🇵🇼Palau

Kereker

Mashed taro with coconut milk, sometimes with dried fish or shrimp; steamed then pan-fried until crispy; a traditional Palauan dish that transforms taro into a savoury cake

🇵🇼Palau

Kukau

Kukau is prepared taro or taro leaves cooked until soft, often mashed or simmered with coconut into a starchy Palauan vegetable dish.

🇸🇧Solomon Islands

Lolo

Coconut cream squeezed by hand from freshly grated flesh, the fat that carries almost every Fijian dish.

🇵🇼Palau

Palauan Coconut Candy

Uleld

Grated coconut with sugar formed into patties or sausage shapes, oven-baked; traditionally wrapped in dried banana leaves; a traditional Palauan candy sold at markets and made at home; a sweet that showcases the versatility of coconut.

🇵🇼Babeldaob (Main Island Traditional Palau), Palau

Palauan Mangrove Crab

Chemang

Palauan mangrove crab is mud crab from the lagoon, steamed or cooked with coconut until the white claw meat is sweet and firm.

🇬🇺Guam

Red Rice

Hineksa' Aga'ga'

The most important dish on the Chamorro fiesta table; white rice cooked with achote (annatto) seeds giving it a deep orange-red color; achote was introduced by Spanish settlers likely from the Philippines or Mexico; the annatto releases a dye when soaked in water; other ingredients like bacon, onion, garlic, and peas are often added; an icon of Chamorro culture.

🇵🇼Palau

Seboseb

Ubechub

Seboseb is a Palauan jelly made from starch extracted from Tacca leontopetaloides roots, sweetened with sugar and enriched with coconut milk.

🇬🇺Guam

Spam Fried Rice

Spam fried rice stirs diced luncheon meat with rice, egg, soy sauce, and vegetables into a savoury Guam breakfast or quick meal.

🇬🇺Guam

Spam Musubi

Spam musubi pairs grilled luncheon meat with seasoned rice and a nori band, making a compact hand-held snack.

🇵🇼Palau

Tama

Palauan tama are small sweet fritters made from flour, eggs, milk, sugar, and baking powder, with banana added in the tama tuu variation.

🇵🇼Palau

Taro Rösti

Palauan taro rösti combines grated taro with onion, garlic, and seasoning, then fries it into a crisp patty with a soft starchy centre.

🇵🇭Philippines

Tinola

Tinolang Manok

Tinola is a Filipino ginger chicken soup with green papaya or chayote and peppery chili leaves in a clear, aromatic broth.

🇵🇼Palau

Ukaeb

Ukaeb is minced crab mixed with coconut milk, lime, onion, and chilli, then served in the crab shell as a rich Palauan shellfish dish.

🇵🇼Palau

Ulkoy

Palauan ulkoy are shrimp and squash or pumpkin fritters seasoned with herbs and pepper, then fried until crisp outside and tender inside.