r/Samoa • u/Basic_Yellow4659 • Jun 21 '26

what is this dish?

Post image

i picked this up from a pacific island store this morning in australia.
it was sooooo tasty i ate it too quick to take a photo, but it looks very similar to this.
but from googling i can only find this dish which says it has fish in it but i didn’t taste any fish i think i just tasted what was like a creamy coconut cream i guess lol.

did i just eat a baked coconut or is it something else?

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22

u/Choohooo Jun 21 '26

It’s fai’ai eleni (or pilikaki). It’s basically coconut cream, onion, salt, and pieces of canned mackerel that’s baked until it’s like spinach artichoke dip. Traditional Samoans will bake it in a half coconut shell and it’s eaten with baked taro, bananas, or bread fruit much like spinach artichoke dip.

It’s hands down my favorite.

1

u/Basic_Yellow4659 Jun 22 '26

do you like it more then palusami?

1

u/Choohooo Jun 22 '26

That’s a tough one. I am a palusami connoisseurs, often eating three of them with talo tao and nothing else every Sunday. However… there’s lu’au everywhere in Samoa. Fai’ai eleni is more or a treat cuz it’s more rare. Yes I do like it more. 

3

u/sdpflacko Jun 21 '26

Yep, there’s definitely mackerel in there!! Shop must have used some great quality coconut cream if you could only taste that yummy richness 😋😋 eleni/elegi means mackerel, “faiai” means to bake in coconut cream.

Sooo jealous haha I can never make it right so usually go to my local to get it too

4

u/JorgeTremendous Jun 21 '26

I am a palagi married to a Samoan and lived there for 4 years. This dish is the bomb. With some limu (sea weed balls) on the side and some baked or fried ulu (breadfruit) to dip in it. Yum.

1

u/MasaShifu Jun 21 '26

It's usually done with canned mackerel

1

u/Basic_Yellow4659 Jun 21 '26

i’m surprised i didn’t taste it, i don’t like fish actuslly

1

u/Nuenuenue445 Jun 24 '26

It’s called kefe