Kokoda (pronounced like Coco-wanda)

A pacific island fish dish, this being a fijian recipe. Essentially a no cook recipe, where fish is cured in lemon juice and served cold in coconut milk/cream. Similar recipes found throughout the Pacific. The Spanish/Peruvian would call this a ceviche, and the Italians a carpaccio of sorts.

1 large FRESH fish fillet such as snapper or mackeral steak (~300g).
3 cloves of garlic. Finely minced.
2 really juicy limes
1 red onion finely chopped.
1 medium green chilli finely chopped (de-seed if you want to limit heat).
1 bunch of chopped coriander
1 large can of coconut milk
extra lemon/lime wedges
salt and pepper to taste

Stage 1: This has to be done at least 5hrs before serving time. Prepare the fish first... give it a wash and pat dry with some paper towel. Then remove any skin, bones or blood lines. Chop it into ~1cm small cubes. Keeping it small will let fish cure quicker... larger pieces mean that you can cure over a longer time. Also, don't use a metal bowl.... anything but. Add the garlic, ginger and lemon juice. Mix well and place in fridge for about 5hrs. Stir occasionally. What you are looking for here is for the fish pieces to turn a 'cooked white' or opaque from a translucent colour. Once you get this throughout the fish, then you are done with this stage.
HOT TIP! Leave one piece of fish slightly larger than the others and test this one. If this is cured, then the smaller ones should definetly be done.

Stage 2: Simply drain the fish and get rid of the excess juices in the bowl (no need to wash.. everything is edible!) Keep the ginger and garlic!! Add the chopped onion, coriander, chilli and stir. Have a taste and adjust salt and pepper. Add a bit of extra garlic if you want. This stage can be kept as is for a while in the fridge. 10mins before serving, add enough coconut milk/cream so you end up with a thick dish. Almost as if someone has put too much mayo in your salad. Put in fridge for about 10mins... but keep in mind that the coconut will solidify if chilled too much. If this happens, just leave outside for a while.

This dish is usually eaten in bowls as a starter with lime/lemon wedges... but use yor imagination.

Variations
Once you've got the basic fish curing thing down, you can add essentially anything to this.. try for shredded cabbages, carrots, chopped capsicum etc.. anything summery salad will usually go well in here. There is also a Malaysian version which cures the fish with limes, but also adds to the final dish the fish sauce, sugar, chilli, soy ingredients usual to all malay dishes. Try adding some finely shredded kaffir lime/ordinary lime leaves to the final dish. Alternate using lemons and limes.. they gives subtly different flavours.

Source: Mr Rudesh Prasad