country Essentials · 10 foods
Tuvalu Essentials
A considered first route through Tuvalu: the foods that carry its everyday habits, celebrations, ingredients, and memory.
Explore all Tuvalu foods →THE
ESSENTIALS
The complete shortlist
10 foods to know.
Each selection includes the reason it belongs here—so this is a guide, not just a pile of names.
Tuvalu
Pulaka
Kofuga Pulaka
Giant swamp taro grows in atoll pits and provides starchy cooked corms.
Tuvalu
Fekei
Grated pulaka and coconut cream steam in leaves into a dense Tuvaluan dish.
Tuvalu
Kaleve
Sweet coconut-flower sap is drunk fresh or used as a traditional sweetener.
Tuvalu
Tulolo
Beaten pulaka or breadfruit is covered with thick coconut cream.
Tuvalu
Tuvaluan Ika Mata
Ika Mata
Raw tuna cures in citrus before coconut cream, cucumber, onion, and pepper.
Tuvalu
Feke mo Lolo
Octopus simmers in coconut milk with onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and spices.
Tuvalu
Talo Tokotokoi
Baked taro is mashed and coated generously with sweetened coconut cream.
Funafuti, Tuvalu
Papa
Grated coconut and sugar form a dense cake that is steamed or baked.
Outer Islands (Nanumea / Nanumaga / Niutao / Nui / Vaitupu / Nukufetau / Nukulaelae / Niulakita), Tuvalu
Fakapulu
Flour, toddy, and coconut bread wraps in pandanus leaves for portability.
Outer Islands (Nanumea / Nanumaga / Niutao / Nui / Vaitupu / Nukufetau / Nukulaelae / Niulakita), Tuvalu
Kao
Fermented coconut toddy becomes a cloudy, mildly alcoholic outer-island drink.