Mums Ika mata

Growing up with the benefit of a large Northland bay as our playground seafood was a daily staple.

Known as Kokoda, Ika Mata, Raw Fish, Poisson Cru, Coconut Ceviche plus a flurry of other terminology this dish is universally known albeit with many different fish species and seasonal ingredients all playing their part dependent on which island you are situated.

My favourite of these dishes is my mums. Yes, yes I hear you….but I am biased, and yes, after consideration mums is still my favourite. Mum’s Ika mata was made with love and laughter, generosity and care. To be fair, most meals made by mum were a journey and a story, of land, sea, history, ancestry, and whanau. That said, and with love I say I could not get my nostrils around Mum leaving crayfish in a creek for a week to ferment.

Of all the iterations and fish types used I have settled on the one go to Ika mata recipe, and if you have ever attended an RMarine event with Ika mata on the menu it will be this one.

Fair warning this is a time consuming meal to prepare. I like the fish dice to be no bigger than a 10mm dice and the balance of the ingredients to be 2-3mm diced or in the case of herbs fine chopped. The reason being that every mouthful has a medley of ingredients so that you get a full spectrum of flavour with every bite.

Ingredients:

The fish, Trevally (Pseudocaranx dentex), cousin to the Kingfish, the Trevally is both a bottom dweller and pelagic hunter meaning they will hunt in the entire water column when required. Commonly used as bait and shunned by many uneducated, Trevally flesh has a medium to soft texture, sweet flavour and is well respected fighting fish and sashimi dish.

  • Red onion, diced 2-3mm (brown onions are too strong) or spring onions work as well.
  • Firm tomatoes diced 2-3 mm (flesh only, reserve the seed and juice for a Bloody Mary)
  • Cucumber diced 2-3mm (we skin them and dice separately but use all of it, the textures differ and add good colour)
  • Coriander and flat leaf parsley fine chopped then fine chopped again (especially if using standard curley parsley as this herb is stronger in flavour with a firmer texture)
  • Capsicum 2-3mm dice (not green, you want to add the crunch but also the colour so go yellow to add vibrancy)
  • Fresh lime juice (or lemon)
  • Can of favourite Coconut Cream

Method:

  • Dice the Trevally fillets into 10mm dice or thereabouts.
  • Add the fish to a bowl and cover with fresh lime juice (or lemon), stir to mix, cover the bowl and place in fridge for 15 minutes. Give the fish a stir to mix up and back in the fridge.
  • After 30 minutes the fish will look like it is poached with an opaque cloudy appearance. Technically speaking the citric acid in the lime juice slowly denatures the flesh proteins, similar to what heat will do.
  • Rinse the fish in a colander under fresh water to remove the lime juice as it has done its job. Give it a good shake to release any water left, and then back into a bowl and fold in gently a can of your favourite Coconut Cream to the “cooked” diced fish. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  • Add the remaining of ingredients

We haven’t talked about quantities and that can be your journey to a flavour profile that excites you and your whanau, but I will say that the hero is the Trevally, so the coconut cream soaked diced Trevally that needs to make up 70% or more of the entire finished dish.

Don’t forget to season to taste with salt and pepper before you plate up, and me personally I like to add a little hot sauce or fresh diced chilli.

Kia nui te kai!