Inspired by American Samoa
THE MEAL
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American Samoa is 7 islands (4 inhabited) in the Samoan archipelago that, unlike the independent nation of Samoa, is an unincorporated territory of the United States, taken in the late 1800s to use as a naval base. The population is almost entirely indigenous Samoans, and their culture and environment have remained mostly un-Americanized, though they do have the highest rate of military enlistment of any other U.S. state or territory!
This meal could not have come at a better time—just as things are getting really cold in Indiana. It was so warm and filling and delicious!
Chicken Kale Moa
For the main dish, I made chicken kale moa. Not kale like the leafy vegetable, “KAH-lay,” as in curry! The spice was brought to the Samoan archipelago by slaves and immigrants from India, and it reminded me a lot of the Japanese curry I’ve made before! There are several different kinds of Kale Moa, but I used chicken because chickens have been found on Polynesian islands long before European contact, domesticated and brought to the area by Southeast Asians.
This was a great one-pot meal that was very easy to put together! It consists of chicken browned in onion, curry, ginger, and garlic, then boiled in chicken broth with potatoes, carrots, and celery until everything is tender. Coconut milk is added to give it a bit of sweetness, and then the whole stew is thickened by a flour slurry. Served over hot white rice, it’s so rich and warm and filling, and I was so happy to discover that it made a lot more than I expected! This is the kind of thing I love having leftovers of, and it was so easy that I’ll absolutely make it again sometime!
Koko Samoa
This is the national drink of Samoa! They say that cocoa was brought to the islands by voyagers who had made it all the way to Peru around 700 AD! Now, the cacao beans grow on Samoa are distinctive from other plants, and it’s ONLY found in Samoa.
You can buy authentic koko samoa blocks to make real koko samoa, but it would’ve taken way too long and cost a ton to ship to Indiana, so I just went with 100% cacao chocolate from my local grocer. I grated it, boiled it in water, then added some brown sugar. Milk can be added too to make it creamier. I usually do prefer a creamier cocoa, but the dark chocolate flavor was still plenty strong (WAY more chocolaty than packet hot cocoa), so I didn’t mind it being thin. If anything, it meant that I could drink more!
It was very easy to make and got me in the Christmas spirit, taking me back to the freezing June nights in Paraguay when my Tongan-Samoan mission companion made hot chocolate from scratch while we listened to Christmas music six months early. 🙂 Good times!
Coconut Rolls
AKA Pani Popo, I couldn’t really find any information about why these are specific to Samoa, but apparently they’ve become really popular on the islands since around the 1990s and are really common in Samoan bakeries now.
I was originally going to make these as a bread side dish and make something else for dessert, but these were so sweet and indulgent that I decided they were the perfect dessert on their own! The flavor was kind of like a coconut-glazed donut—so fluffy and flavorful! My mouth is watering right now as I remember that I still have some in my fridge. You can definitely make them using from-scratch bread dough if you’re a purist, but I was happy to use frozen Rhodes rolls for a quick and easy but amazing dessert!
I used so much coconut milk for these US territories! It was all so delicious! Now we’ll head back to the mainland, with one last tropical-island stop: Hawaii!
Thank you for reading!