Foods of Micronesia


Koahp en palau sukusuk presented by Berg Saimon.


Fifi, a Woleaian day time staple. Copra is grated and turned into a meal that one can drink. Prepared by the women on days when men are working.

Myrantha and Jaylino present fifi

Marissa presented uht domwdomw: a banana smoothie of a sort

Marissa


Gavrin and Flores presented koahp en poanioau, a rarer form of kehp (yam)

Harvey brought in taro balls, known in Pohnpeian as uter mwahng and in Ngatikese as kemelis

Harvey

Don, Sheeron, and Luckyleen presented mwehl en sawa: soft taro

Sheeron, Luckyleen, Don

Chuukese feiren uuch (uuch in top)

Feiren uuch is grated banana of a particular type of banana with a thick skin. The grated banana is returned to the skin and then cooked, resulting in a banana shaped dish

Russell, Adore, and Pala present feiren uuch


Uht sukusuk: Pohnpeian pounded banana

Hart and MJ presenting uht sukusuk - pounded banana

Mwoakillese mar wus

Eve Sophie, Tori-Ann, and Trisha

Eve, Tori-Ann, and Trisha provided the following write up on their unique mar wus dish:

"Mar" means preserved breadfruit
"Wus" means banana (specifically the "fiji" banana which is originated from Fiji)

Preparing the mar is a team effort. In the past men would climb the tree and gather mature
breadfruit. The women would peel it, cut it into smaller pieces, and put them in bags. They
throw the bags into the ocean and the kids would play with them and pound them to get rid
of the breadfruit sap and soften up the breadfruit. Then the women would dig up a pit and
cover the dirt with breadfruit leaves, then the well-softened breadfruit is dumped into this pit
another layer of breadfruit leaves is added on top, lastly rocks are used to put pressure on it.

After 3 to 4 days, they take out the preserved breadfruit, change the leaves, and then put
them back in. They repeat this process for over a month, until the breadfruit turns into a
mushy consistency. In the present, the steps are quite similar but better equipment is used in
the process. Instead of using a pit, they use containers and bags to store the breadfruit.

Steps to making Mar Wus:

  1. Rinse mar until it is no longer acidic (bitter) and dry.
  2. Knead the mar with your hands until it stick together like dough.
  3. Prepare and pound ripe bananas to use in the mixture.
  4. Grate coconut and squeeze out the coconut milk to use in the mixture.
  5. Mix the mar, the banana, and coconut milk until well blended; sweeten it
  6. molasses (melted sugar).
  7. Umw for an hour (1 hour and a half for the oven).
  8. AND ENJOY!



Tori-Ann, Eve Sophie, and Trisha

While all of the islands have preserved breadfruit dishes, as far as I have encountered the dishes are made only with fermented breadfruit. The Mwoakillese add ripe banana to their mar, which is unique in my experience.

kehp pirain (fried yam) brought in by Gary

Jossel brought in uht sukusuk: pounded banana

The food was wonderful, and everyone was excited to try each other's foods.

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