The dish of many names, Ika Mata, Kokoda, Poisson Cru, 'Ota 'Ika or Oka, is a vibrant island-style raw fish dish that’s bursting with fresh, zesty flavour. Made with a firm flesh fish marinated in citrus and creamy coconut milk, it’s light, refreshing and the perfect dish to bring to your next summer BBQ to share with mates.

• 1kg of a firm fish (Trevally, Kingfish or Kahawai work best)
• 5-6 lemons
• 1/2 Cucumber
• 1 Tomato
• 1 small red onion
• 1 Red Chilli
• 1 small handful of Coriander
• 200ml of Coconut Milk (you can use Coconut cream but Coconut Milk is lighter and not as rich)
• Salt & Pepper (to season)

• Sharp filleting knife
• Lemon squeezer
• Sieve
• Bowl or dish with lid
• Chopping board

Step 1: Clean all fillets with a paper towel, ensuring all scales and excess moisture has been removed 

Step 2: Dice fish fillets into 1-1.5cm cubes and put into a bowl or dish (a flat bottom wide dish works best)

Step 3: Squeeze all the lemons into a seprate bowl, use Sieve to strain out and lumps and seeds.

Step 4: Pour the juice over the diced fish until almost covered, turn the fish so it is completely covered (save some juice for later!) 

Step 5: Cover the fish and refridgerate overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours, the longer you leave it the more the fish 'cooks'

The Next Day

Step 6: Dice small red onion, tomato, 1/2 a cucumber & coriander

Step 7: Dice Red Chilli - Tip: If you don't like a lot of heat, remove seeds and inner core of chilli

Step 8: Remove fish from fridge and drain the lemon juice from the bowl

Step 9: Add 200ml of Coconut Milk to the fish and start to mix

Step 10: Slowly add small amounts of Lemon juice to thin the mixture until it's a smooth consistency

Step 11: Add all the diced red onion, tomato, cucumber, coriander and chilli mix

Step 12: Mix thoroughly, adding more lemon juice if required

Step 13: Add Salt and Pepper to taste

Step 14: Serve in a bowl with Corn Chips, thinly sliced toasted Sourdough bread, or simply grab a spoon and dig in!

The longer you leave the fish in the lemon juice the softer it becomes as the acidity from the lemon juice actually cooks the fish. This is why firmer flesh fish suits this dish better. Ideal candidates are kingfish, trevally, kahawai, koheru and most of the tuna species.

Another great thing about this dish is you can add extra vegetables to it if you want. Vegetables that have some crunch can be great additions, bell peppers and even finely diced carrots are a great option.

If you are feeding a large group of people and need to make larger portions, simply double the recipe (you probably won't need 12 lemons though) and for those folks who despise Coriander - just don't add it in :)