Top 5: Dishes of Samoa

Given its location and history, Samoan cuisine is a mixture of cultures equally reliant on the bounty of the island. Here are five dishes of Samoa sure to please your taste buds.

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Taisi Moa

This typical Samoan recipe is a chicken dish baked in banana leaves, usually in an earthen oven called an umu.

Sapasui

This noodle dish evolved from the adopted Chinese chop suey, popular for special occasions and Sunday lunch after church. There are many styles of this Samoan dish, but most contain stewed beef cubes and taro.

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Panipopo

Panipopo is sweet coconut bread native to Samoan culture. Pani means bread, while popo refers to the coconut sauce poured over the sweet dough before baking.

Puligi

This steamed pudding is a labor-intensive recipe that can take more than four hours to make. It is also a rare treat, as all its ingredients except for coconut milk are foreign to the island.

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Keke Pua’a

This dish is a twist on Chinese bao buns, commonly filled with pua’a, or pork, as well as various ingredients like onions, garlic, soy sauce, beef and even leftover sapasui.