Octopus! It’s What’s For Dinner….wait…what?

I saw one of these color shifting cephalopods at the local wharf & I had to try my hand a cooking this tasty creature.

I consulted with a well-spoken Fijian woman at the Lautoka market & she gave me detailed instructions on how to prepare said Fijian delicacy. Myself & fellow volunteers Alicia & Megan made our way to the wharf & haggled for a 8+ lb. prize-winning $12 octopus, which we named Paco…..later we affectionately referred to him as Pactopus. Thankfully the dirtiest work is done for us ahead of time, namely removing the eyes, brain, ink sac & 3 hearts…eeewww…this is done by well….are you sure you want to know? Turning the thing inside out and ripping it all off.

Our friend Paco had obviously run with a rough crowd because he was only rocking 6 of his 8 tentacles, which are very tough & need to be tenderized. So the first thing we have to do is & I quote “beat the thing nicely.” But before that, we all partake in a pre-bludgeoning photo shoot while we squirm & squeal & seriously question whether this was a good idea.

All of three of us hold a rolling pin in hand & start beating away while sea water is flying at our faces and we feel an odd mix of determination & remorse.
Once thoroughly tenderized Alicia has a stroke of octo-genius & she brings out scissors to cut off his suckers. A far better idea than slicing them off with a knife & potential my own appendage.

The next step is to get a large pot smoking hot then throw him in, put a lid on it & let the natural sea water come out so he boils in his own Paco au jus. Once all of the water boils away we added homemade coconut milk, onions, chilies and a squeeze of lemon juice.

It was a screaming success, albeit totally disgusting! This was made 100% true to the traditional Fijian method of preparation and was delicious. It was tender and tasted mild like the smell of fresh ocean air. A highly nutritious animal, filled with lean protein, iron, selenium and omega-3’s, it’s dressed perfectly with the rich coconut milk and tang of lemon. It will definitely be making it to my table again. I need to get it while I can…I wonder if I can get whole octopuses in Cleveland?

Recipe

Sulua Vaka Lolo-Octopus in Coconut Milk

1 whole fresh octopus (brains, ink sac etc. removed)
Salt and baking soda
1 coconut or 1 can of coconut milk
1 small onion, diced
1 chili pepper, diced
1 lemon cut into wedges
Rolling pin or meat tenderizer
Newspaper

Take octopus outside to tenderize, this is a messy job.
Put salt & a bit of baking soda on all sides, place on newspaper & “beat it nicely” using a rolling pin or meat tenderizer. Then rinse it off with water thoroughly. Do not cut it up, leave it whole, however we removed the head & just cooked the tentacles.

Cut off the suckers using scissors and discard. If the beak has not been removed, do so. It is in the center and is a hard black mass that can be cut out….it sounds disgusting, but at this point you are pretty much committed so deal with it.
Heat up a large stock pot until very hot with no water in it. Then add the octopus to the hot pan and cover. Water will naturally come out of it & it will boil in its own liquid. Simmer covered for about 30 minutes, until its own water is gone, turning once about every 10 minutes. The tentacles will curl up & the entire octopus will turn an inky purple hue. Turn off the heat and add fresh (or if you must canned) coconut milk, onion and chilies to the pot. Squeeze with lemon before serving. Serve with boiled cassava.

Is this really a road?

When I was in the US I had the pleasure of working with a wonderful doctor of chiropractics named Andrew Ragon. When I told him I was moving to Fiji he said that his college did clinics abroad there. I contacted the administrator for the clinics & arranged to meet the team on 2 separate clinics in a town near me. It was lovely to meet these hard working students, be among like minded people and spend time with Americans. Of course it also rocked that I got adjusted and they left behind the ever-coveted American magazine.

So after the last clinic in July I thought it would be great to host a clinic in my town. The students from Palmer Chiropractic College come twice a year and spend about 12 days going to mostly schools and adjusting the students and staff. It took months of emailing back & forth with the college in the US & with people locally. I needed to get approval from the head teacher to have a clinic at my school, set up a venue in town, arrange for 2 teas, design a flier to distribute, walk all over creation to hang the fliers & of course give a description of what chiropractics is because it is an unknown form of treatment here. So after several long months of detailed work it came together on Friday Sept 30th.

The team of young chiropractors-to-be slowly disembarked from the bus after an early morning wake-up call and a long journey to my school in the bush. My school is about 10km outside of town & 1.5km in the interior down a bumpy, windy, dusty and sometimes precarious road. The admin person Cheryl, looks at the road then looks at me & asks “Is this really a road?” My reply is “Yes. It even has a name.” About 5 minutes later the driver got a flat tire. Oops.

The doctors set up their tables and supplies and quickly got to work on the 160 students/staff and nearly 100 locals from the nearby village and neighborhood. It was blistering hot that day with the sun shining and humidity hazing the mountains. The doctors worked tirelessly through heat, sweat and exhaustion. At one point I was sitting and watching the clinic progress and I saw a doctor treating a young, nervous girl. The doctor is smiling and generously explaining what is about to happen. The child is trusting and has no idea what to expect. I was holding back tears as I watched my vision of holding a clinic taking place right before me & seeing these future chiropractors treat so many deserving people in this financially weakened land.

We wrapped things up at the school, had a lovely tea of local fruits and traditional Indian snacks and headed to town to set up for the next venue. It was held at the local Sathya Sai Centre. When we arrived there were already 30 people waiting! We set up and got to work. The team of 18 saw nearly 150 people in 3.5 hours. A SMASHING success!

I later spoke to one of the team and he said that Friday, even though it was their last day of doing clinics & they were all exhausted, was his favorite day. I was overjoyed! He said he saw more patients at the final clinic than any other place that were relevant to chiropractics and would be similar cases to what they would see in the US.

This was one of the most meaningful projects I have done since I’ve come to Fiji and by far the largest scale. Chiropractics is something I firmly believe in & it has healed me from many injuries and a car accident. In 1 day the team treated nearly 400 people. I am still standing tall and proudly wearing a feather in my cap for this accomplishment. The young students from the Palmer college have made an impact in Fiji and I am so grateful for their service.
A hearty Vinaka Vakalevu!! (huge thanks!)

Coming soon…..this blog is taking a different direction….Fiji Feasting-all food all the time.