Recipes from Tonga aren’t easy to find and most that I found surprisingly have corn beef! Corn beef was brought from the Australians and the Tongans kept it alive in their food culture. Corn beef is difficult to find in Italy and is usually on available in the canned form. The recipe that caught my eye was Kale Moa, a mild yellow chicken curry with coconut. I love coconut curries and this recipe fit into our requirements of easy to cook and easily available ingredients. Kale Moa is a common dish throughout the islands of Oceania and each country adds what is has on hand to make it their own.

Kale Mao – Serving: 3 to 4

1 onion, chopped

1 large chicken breast, chopped into chunks

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons of vegetable oil

2 tablespoons of mild curry powder

1/2 piece of ginger, minced (or a teaspoon of ginger powder)

1 – 1 1/2 cup of water

2 cups of coconut milk

3 medium potatoes, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

3 Tablespoons flour, 3-4 tablespoons of water

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large pot, add onion and cook for 3 minutes, add garlic, curry, and cook, stirring frequently until fragrant. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper, brown chicken chunks then add water and coconut milk. Bring to a boil and then lower, simmer, and cover for 15 minutes. Add carrots, potatoes, and celery, bring back to a boil if needed, the cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Mix the floor with the 3 tablespoons of water until a flour slurry is formed and add to the curry. Mix in the slurry, turn up the heat to medium until the curry has thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with basmati rice.