Kiribati Cuisine

Kiribati cuisine is the elemental, wholesome food of a people living on tiny, low coral atolls where little grows, drawing above all on the abundant sea and the few hardy plants that thrive on the poor coral soil. Fresh reef fish and seafood are the mainstay, eaten grilled, raw or in coconut, alongside the vital staples of breadfruit, pandanus, and above all coconut, used in every form, its flesh, milk, water and the sweet toddy tapped from its flower. The prized swamp taro, babai, grown with great effort in pits, is a ceremonial food of high status. Simple, fresh and adapted to a challenging ocean environment, it is island food at its most elemental.

The main sights

• The fresh reef fish - the grilled and coconut-cooked seafood.
• Coconut - the coconut in flesh, milk, water and toddy.
• Breadfruit and pandanus - the vital atoll staples.
• Babai - the prized, high-status swamp taro.

When to go

Year-round; local markets and villages serve fresh fish, coconut and breadfruit dishes, and the freshest seafood, straight from the surrounding reefs and lagoon, is the highlight. The prized swamp taro babai features at ceremonies and feasts, and the food reflects the resourcefulness of atoll life on one of the world's remotest nations.

Things to know

Kiribati food is simple, elemental atoll cooking centred on fish, coconut and breadfruit rather than a varied or refined cuisine, so its appeal is freshness and the resourcefulness of island life rather than culinary complexity, and everyday eating, especially in crowded Tarawa, increasingly relies on imported and processed foods, a growing health concern. For fresh reef fish, coconut in its many forms and the prized babai taro, though, eaten with atoll simplicity, Kiribati food is a wholesome and elemental taste of the remote central Pacific.

Nearby

The markets and villages of Tarawa and the outer atolls are the places to eat.