Samoan Cusine: Fa'alifu Talo/Ta'amu

Samoan Cuisine: 
Fa’alifu talo/ta’amu

History of Taro and Ta’amu:

            For as long as I can remember these two vegetables have always been a part of our everyday lives. In all the village council meetings, village gatherings, church gatherings, family events, taro and ta’amu are always guaranteed to make an appearance. Growing up we were taught that it was important to grow taro and ta’amu because it is a great source of nutrients, it is not hard to grow in mass, and most important of all they can survive tropical cyclones. It is common to cook this dish daily in Samoan families. I thought about how this tie into my Samoan culture and I could not think of how it does not tie into my culture. Food is one of the best ways to understand a culture. It is unique, and every culture has its own cuisines. With this I will share one of mine with you.

Talo/Ta’amu?

Talo

·         Also known as taro or Colocasia esculenta

·         Thought to be native to South India and South East Asia (Samoans have evidence of South East Asian roots)

Ta’amu

·  This plant is very similar to the taro in that it is a root vegetable.

·  Common in Samoa, Tonga and many other pacific islands.

Ingredients and tools required:

• 5 good sized taro’s
• 1 Ta’amu root
• 4 coconuts
• Fire wood
• Big pot
• Coconut De-Husker
• Coconut scraper
• Coconut Scrapes Juicer

Getting started

• First, we will need to set up the fire place.
• This is a typical set up back home

Moving along..

• After setting up the fire place and lighting the fire, we will then place our pot filled just past half way with water on the fire place.

Getting to the taro..

• Traditionally we would scrape the dirt and outer skin of the taro with a coconut shell. But nowadays we cut a make-shift scraper from sardine cans.

Hello Mr. ta’amu

• With the ta’amu we cannot use the scraper like the taro because it causes it to taste very bitter when it is cooked. So, to avoid this we have to cut the dirt layer of the ta’amu with a knife.

After that..

• After scraping and cutting the dirt layer off the taro and ta’amu it is then placed on a banana leaf. Each individual taro is cut in 4 even pieces. Each piece is then in half just slightly. The ta’amu is sliced in a circular manner.

The coconut cream..

• After prepping the taro and ta’amu we will then move on to getting the coconut cream.
• First we round up a good batch of coconuts

Taking the husk off

• Traditionally we used sharp rocks and hard branches to remove the husk. If you try taking the husk off by hand you will be in for a very good workout. In this video a piece of metal is being used instead.

The innovative coconut flesh mincer

• This handy little contraption has been around longer than I can remember. You cut the coconut in half and scrape the flesh out into a bowl.

Bringing it all together..

• By the time the coconut cream is ready the water should be boiling. We then add the Taro and Ta’amu and let it sit for about 20-30 minutes depending on how hot the fire is.

It’s almost done!

• By using a twig or fork you can tell if the taro and ta’amu are ready. If the fork can pierce the taro and slides of gently, then the taro is at the perfect texture and is ready. We then pour out the hot water and place the pot back onto the fire with the cooked taro and ta’amu inside. After a couple of seconds we then pour in the coconut cream and let it simmer for 1-2 minutes.

End result- Fa’alifu talo/ta’amu

• Though it may seem like it is a long and tedious task making this dish it actually is a lot easier in real life. Making this dish is just part of our everyday chores so it is something we are used to doing.

Conclusion

• This dish is very common in Samoa. It is always found in any gathering that Samoans are present. I have found that the best way to share your culture with people is to share your food. I have learned many things about many different cultures just be sharing a meal with people of those cultures. I wanted to share this dish because I felt like sharing a part of my culture. Cooking food back home is a chore because it involves a lot of physical activity. It always tasted great because when it was ready, we all sat down and enjoyed it with one another.