Eat like a local: food in Tonga (Fruits, Fish, Meat, Vegetables) | The Family Without Borders

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Eat like the local in Tonga!

Tonga: Hanna with a big fish ; Photo: Thomas Alboth

Looong weeks in Tonga are a very good lesson of biology: which of those things, which are moving you can eat? Which of those leaves and fruits are edible?

Food in Tonga is expensive and on the most of the islands – there is almost no choice. In those little shops you can find canned meat, those fast powder soups and chips. And that would be this. In the bigger shops there will be some no-taste rice, very expensive pasta and sometimes some bread. On the markets, if you are very early and if you are very lucky: you will get some cucumber or carrot. Hmmm, how not to miss our Berlin shops?

You simply have to eat, like locals do. Get in touch with some fisherman, who brings every day with his boat magic tastes: of fish and seafood (snail, lobster, mussels, weed…). Get in touch with others around: those who have chickens and pigs. Maybe sometimes they can let you know, when will they kill the next one and you can get some fresh piece

Then: go with the locals to the bush and learn what is what. Which bananas are good just like this, which are better to be cooked. Which breadfruit tree is ready to pick up the fruits. Which thing going out of the ground is taro, which one is a small taro, which one is cassava, which one is kumara, which one is yam (there is 8 different yams!!), which one is tapioka (maniok), etc etc… And how to cook each of them.

Our favourite until now is pele, Tongan kind of spinach. Growing everywhere, fried with some onions and spices (thanks god we have our little packages of spices!) – miaaaam. And the fresh coconut milk – self-made, just double miaaaaam.

And – of course – the fruits! Even if it’s not too easy to find them (because there are many locals looking for them, because there is simply not too much of them growing on the north) – coconuts, bananas, mandarins, papayas, lemons (and lemon leaves for the tee!), passion fruits and guavas just from the tree are… something we don’t have at home. The feeling + the taste make it I’m gonna miss this Tonga, where there is no chocolate in the shops. Ahhhh chocolate…


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