Crispy kūmara
Wallace Mua
This dish is inspired by the traditional ‘umala fa‘alifu which sometimes graces the To‘onai table in place of taro. It’s special to me because it brings the nostalgia of breaking bread, sharing stories and feeling the warmth of family.
Serves 3
Cook time: 90 min
2kg beauregard (orange) baby kūmara
200g butter
1 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp salt
Oil for deep frying
Coconut mousse
1 brown onion, thinly sliced
2 red chilli, sliced
5 garlic cloves, sliced
50g ginger, grated
50g palm sugar, grated
2 tbsp fish sauce
50ml canola oil
1L Kara coconut cream
Optional garnish
Coriander, chopped
Cashew nuts, chopped
To prepare the kūmara
Wash kūmara and place into a pot with cold water and salt. Bring to boil, then turn down heat and simmer for 10 min or until the kūmara is cooked through. Drain and cool.
In a saucepan, heat butter and add curry powder. Simmer on low heat for 5 min. While you are doing this, preheat your oven to 160°C.
Once kūmara is cooled, cut into halves, lengthways, and place flesh-side up on a flat baking tray. Season lightly and drizzle with curry butter.
Place in the oven and bake for 15 min or until slightly caramelised. Cool and keep aside.
To prepare the coconut mousse
In a medium-sized pot, on medium heat, heat oil and saute onions. Once brown, add chilli, garlic and grated ginger, and continue to saute. Once caramelised, add palm sugar and saute until it has dissolved.
Add coconut cream, stirring constantly so it doesn’t stick. Reduce coconut cream by a third, remove from heat and blend until smooth. Add fish sauce, cool and keep aside.
To assemble
Deep fry kūmara until crispy, then place on paper towels to drain.
Season kūmara and top with coconut mousse. Garnish with chopped coriander and chopped toasted cashew nut.
Wallace Mua is a Kiwi chef with Sāmoan heritage.