Our recipe for this month is for the Tahitian national dish, Ia Ota, or Poisson Cru. The dish is made from raw ahi tuna (yellowfin tuna), assorted vegetables, lime juice, and coconut milk. It is light and tasty, perfect for a summer repast on the veranda.

In Tahiti, although Tahitian is the first language for many people, French is the official language, and the Tahitian name of the dish, Ia Ota, and the French name, Poisson Cru, both mean simply "raw fish." Japanese poke or Latin American Ceviche are similar, but Ia Ota uses coconut milk, and the dish is commonly served with rice.

Ia ota is not a special-occasion dish; it is an everyday food often eaten at casual beach get-togethers. It is also served by most restaurants in Tahiti. It is ubiquitous. Being a tropical island nation, fish and coconuts abound. Recipes written by non-Tahitians typically call for marinating the raw fish in lime juice (some call it "cooking" it), with a misplaced notion that this somehow makes raw fish safer to eat. YouTubes by Polynesian cooks forego the marinade and just pour the lime juice, and then the coconut milk over the entire dish. I think the dish would have been even more splendid if we had followed this method. Please note that in Polynesian written recipes and YouTubes, they often call limes "lemons"; it's just a language difference. The fish of choice (although there are many other options) is "Red Tuna," but this is not the proper name for a species; the most common choice is yellowfin tuna, which is also the most frequently used fish for poke. Thankfully, yellowfin tuna is much less likely to have lots of parasites. They are classed as "pelagic predators," and those types of fish (which include tuna, mahi-mahi, wahoo, and shark), all of which swim in ocean waters, have few, if any, parasites—which is why they can be eaten fresh.

Again, Ia Ota is often a "communal food"; all the ingredients should be as fresh as possible, and the dish (particularly if you prepare it in the typical Tahitian manner) is dead simple to prepare. It should be consumed as soon as possible for both taste and safety. Yellowfin is often caught with handlines in the waters just beyond the reef, cleaned onboard, and then chilled as soon as possible in an ice chest. While there are many small-scale professional fishing outfits, people also head out in small boats with family or friends to fish for tuna. There is also a lot of fishing in lagoons and inland waters, but for different fish. Tuna is also grilled and cooked for other dishes.

Cook's notes:

1. It is nearly always best to buy fish frozen. The vast majority of fish (unless you are right on the water's edge) that are sold as "fresh" were previously frozen. Fresh fish is usually just thawed fish. This raises contamination concerns; buying "fresh" fish is not tastier, or safer—quite the contrary. There are no clear national figures for illness specifically linked to yellowfin tuna, and problems are uncommon when it is properly handled. As with any raw food, the key is to keep it cold, prepare it cleanly, and eat it promptly.

2. "Sushi grade" is completely a marketing gimmick. There is no such official standard. Nearly all fish that is destined to be possibly eaten raw must, however, follow USDA rules, which require specific sub-zero freezing for specific periods of time (oddly, there are three different formulas). Certain qualities (tightness of muscle grain, vibrancy of color, glossiness, smell when unfrozen) might separate good tuna from not-so-good tuna, but being labeled "sushi grade" or not is not definitive. Interestingly enough, because ahi tuna is generally parasite-free, it is exempt from USDA regulations. I should note that salmon can be used for Ia Ota, but unlike ahi tuna, wild salmon is often chock-full of parasites; farmed salmon far less so. But salmon must adhere to USDA regulations. We had a choice of buying "sushi grade" (defrosted) ahi tuna for $56 a pound or buying lovely ahi tuna steaks from 99 Ranch Market for $15 a pound. We chose the latter with no regrets. Many supermarkets sell bags of ahi tuna steaks even cheaper, but I am unfamiliar with the quality of those.

3. The more prominent health consideration in preparing any food using raw fish is Vibrio bacterial infection. It can be effectively managed by buying the fish frozen, keeping it frozen until needed, and thawing it slowly in the refrigerator (40°F or lower). Once thawed, keep it cold, do not let it sit out, and prepare and serve the Ia Ota immediately.

4. Our recipe uses the most common ingredients, but there are many options for choosing other fish (mahi-mahi is one) or different vegetables. The tuna can be sliced or cubed.

5. Polynesians usually prepare their own coconut milk on the spot. It requires halving a coconut (in the proper state of ripeness, not too young and not too old), scraping out the coconut (not chunks, but shreds), mixing it, and then straining the "milk" out with cheesecloth or a metal strainer. We used Aroy-D coconut milk from a carton.

6.Traditional ia ota is served with rice. We made this dish for our monthly book club meeting, where we discussed Somerset Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence. So we served it over rice; the coconut milk and lime juice infused the rice, and it was outstanding. The book is not really about Tahiti or Polynesia, but we talked mostly about Polynesian culture and the colonial impact on it. The book is replete with outrageously blatant misogyny (not just sexism) and racism. I learned that my experience reading the book was similar to that of the other book club members. I was tremendously offended until the very last chapter. Then the light of realization came, and I began to see the philosophical depths of the book. It was a rousing discussion, and everyone seemed to love the book, despite being deeply shocked by its language and representations.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of ahi (yellowfin) tuna
• 1 seeded cucumber, cubed (we used an Asian cucumber)
• 2 medium tomatoes, cubed
• 1/2 of an onion (we like red ones for this), sliced thin and then cut into smaller lengths
• Juice from 6 limes (ours were on the small side, perhaps 1/4 cup)
• 1 cup of coconut milk (try to get coconut milk with the fewest additives)
• 1 1/2 cups of rice

Preparation:

1. Thaw the tuna in the refrigerator for 18–20 hours (for a block of tuna).
2. Remove the tuna from its package and place it in an open container for 20 minutes in the refrigerator. Start cooking the rice.
3. Slice, chop, or cube the vegetables.
4. Marinate the tuna in the lime juice for 5 minutes (this step is optional!).
5. Mix the tuna and vegetables in a dish or bowl; pour the lime juice and coconut milk over everything.
6. Serve with or over rice.

Ia mā‘a maitai ("Eat well"!)

Recipe by: T. Johnston-O'Neill
Photos by: Shari K. Johnston-O'Neill