Kiribati is a state in Micronesia which encompasses a single coral island and thirty two atolls, twenty one of which are inhabited. Humans have been in he islands for at least
five thousand years, but were colonized by Samonans, Fijians and Tongans in the XIVth century, who brought their traditions with them, and later by Europeans in the XIXth century.
The i-Kiribati survived by practicing fishing
and very limited agriculture. The islands are very young and the dirt they do have is thin and nutrient-poor, making it unsuitable for growing crops. Currently, the islands are threatened by the rise of sea levels and some
climate science predict they will be underwater by the end of the century. Much of the food consumed in Kiribati is imported from abroad.
Kiribati cuisine was originally based on seafood, coconuts and te tou, or
pandanus fruit - though other crops, including water taro, breadfruit and pumpkin were introduced later. The national dish is palusami, corned beef with onions and
coconut cream which is steamed in taro or banana leaves. I had planned to make this and got the Australian corned beef I figured they use there, but before I could get to it, I entered one of my long cooking strikes. Given that
it doesn't really sound great - I'm not a huge fan of canned meat -, I decided to not try again and just skip it.
Before my cooking strike I did manage to make two Kiribati dishes, neither of which was a winner.
