Poisson Cru

     A commonly served dish throughout Polynesia is poisson cru.  The main ingredients are ubiquitous here:  fish, limes, and coconut milk.  One can easily imagine it being made since ancient times in coconut shell bowls as a quick lunch.  Restaurants often advertise several varieties--it seems everyone has their favorite version.  A basic recipe follows here, but feel free to play with the ingredients.  The Polynesians certainly do.

     Poisson cru is raw chunks of fish marinated in lime juice.  The acid of the lime juice "cooks" or "cures" the fish so that it takes on a whitish appearance on the outside, and more translucent on the inside of each chunk.   As with sushi, freshness of the fish is paramount.  It makes a terrifically cool, tasty lunch coming out of the fridge on a hot day, and it gives us one more thing to do with all that meat when we've caught a big one!

Poisson Cru

1# fresh boneless fish (tuna, marlin, mahi-mahi, etc), cut into bite size pieces

1//2 medium onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced.

1 serrano pepper, finely minced  OR  Tabasco sauce in whatever amount you prefer

   Place these ingredients in a non-metallic bowl and add the juice of 3 or 4 limes (enough for the lime juice to coat everything.  Marinate overnight, or at least 6 hrs.  Before serving, add:

1/2 can coconut milk.

Stir a few times and serve.