🇰🇮 I-Kiribati Cuisine

Roasted Coconut

Fire-Roasted Whole Coconut

Prep Time 30 min
Servings 2
Difficulty Easy
Calories 294 kcal

A mature coconut placed directly in hot coals until the shell chars and the inner meat becomes smoky and slightly caramelized. The simplest and oldest snack in Kiribati.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1 Select a mature coconut that sloshes with water when shaken, indicating freshness.
  2. 2 Place the whole coconut with its husk directly into a bed of hot coconut husk coals.
  3. 3 Turn the coconut every five minutes using tongs or sticks to ensure even charring of the outer husk.
  4. 4 Roast for twenty to twenty-five minutes until the husk is blackened and the coconut water inside is steaming hot.
  5. 5 Remove from coals and let cool for five minutes. Crack open with a machete strike along the equator.
  6. 6 Drink the warm, slightly smoky coconut water first, then scrape out the softened, caramelized meat with a spoon.

Did You Know?

The practice of roasting coconuts in coals is believed to be the very first cooking technique ever used on Kiribati atolls, predating even fish grilling.