Marshallese Cuisine

Marshallese cuisine is the resourceful, wholesome food of a people living on tiny, low coral atolls where little can be grown, drawing above all on the abundant sea and the few hardy plants that thrive on the poor soil. Fresh reef fish and seafood are the mainstay, eaten grilled, raw or in coconut, alongside the vital staples of breadfruit, pandanus fruit, the starchy swamp taro, and arrowroot. The coconut is central and used in every form, its milk, flesh, water and sap enriching dishes and drinks. 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.
• Breadfruit and pandanus - the vital atoll staples.
• The coconut - the coconut in milk, flesh, water and sap.
• Arrowroot and swamp taro - the hardy starchy crops.

When to go

Year-round; local markets and simple eateries on Majuro serve fresh fish, breadfruit and coconut dishes, and the freshest seafood, straight from the surrounding reefs and lagoon, is the highlight. The food reflects the resourcefulness of atoll life, making the most of the sea and the few plants that grow on coral.

Good to know

Marshallese food is simple, elemental atoll cooking centred on fish, breadfruit and coconut 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 Majuro, leans heavily on imported and processed foods, a growing health concern. For fresh reef fish, breadfruit and coconut in its many forms, though, eaten with atoll simplicity, Marshallese food is a wholesome and elemental taste of the remote central Pacific.

Nearby

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