Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia · Volume 09, The Taro Patch, the Pounding Stone and the Sakau Cup
Delul diokang
Palau
An illustration of the dish, not a photograph of it cooked.
- Time
- 45 minutes
- Reviewed
- Not yet reviewed from inside the tradition
- Cooked
- Not yet cooked and reported
Grated tapioca, cassava, shaped into bite-sized pieces and smoked over fire, served with a coconut dip.
As tradition built it
Makes about 12 cakes. About 45 minutes.
Ingredients
- 500 g fresh cassava, peeled and finely grated
- to taste coconut cream, grated ginger and salt, for the dip
Method
- Squeeze excess moisture from the grated cassava in a clean cloth.
- Press into small, firm cakes roughly 4cm across.
- Smoke over a low, indirect fire, or in a covered barbecue with a handful of soaked wood chips, at low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until dried at the edges and lightly coloured.
- Serve with a dip of coconut cream, grated ginger and salt.
Notes
Quantities reconstructed from documented technique, order of operations and stated timings; no named traditional measured source was found for this dish.
What a modern chef changes
A dehydrator after a short smoke, for a controllable dry-and-crisp result an open fire cannot guarantee
Method
- Smoke the pressed cassava cakes briefly, about 20 minutes.
- Dry in a dedicated dehydrator at 60°C for 3 to 4 hours, giving a more even, controllable dry-and-smoke result than an open fire alone, with a genuinely crisp exterior and a soft centre.
- Whip the coconut dip to a light mousse rather than a loose cream, and pipe rather than spoon it.
- Serve alongside the cakes as a proper canapé.