Koho koho: Moluccan mackerel salad with coconut from the Maluku cookbook
Looking for a quick, fresh salad bursting with flavor? Meet koho koho, a classic from Moluccan cuisine. This smoked mackerel salad with desiccated coconut and coconut milk is the perfect side dish for your rice table, barbecue or summer lunch.
This dish comes from the new cookbook Maluku – The Pure Cuisine of the Moluccan Islands by Carl Lemette-Polhaupessy and Mas van Putten. Together, they are known as De Vrouw met de Baard. They combine cooking, travel, photography and storytelling in books, TV programs and theater workshops. Their earlier book Jiwa was awarded Silver Cookbook 2023. Their mission with Maluku? To put the forgotten flavors of the Moluccas back on the map. And koho koho is one of these dishes.
Compliments guaranteed
Mas: “How often we have eaten koho koho in the Moluccas – and here in the Netherlands. When we were able to have a stand at the Moluccan Day of the Kwaku festival, we sold this koho koho for the first time. Exciting, because for Moluccans it is important that their food is well seasoned, and that makes sense: it is the heritage that connects them to the islands. So you can imagine how happy we were with all the compliments.”
What are candlenuts?
Before you get started, here is some more information about the candlenuts in the recipe. Candlenuts look like large hazelnuts and are indestructible; they therefore keep for a long time. They are high in fat, sweet, light and slightly bitter, and are used to thicken sauces. Always roast the nuts for 5 minutes in a dry hot frying pan or fry them along with the bumbu, because they are mildly toxic when raw. Can’t find candlenuts? Use macadamia nuts or blanched almonds.
Koho koho: the recipe
This is a delicious lunch dish with cassava or toasted bread. And of course, it is also lovely as a side dish or as part of a menu.
- Put the mackerel in a bowl and flake the fish into pieces. Break the cooked cassava into pieces and mix it with the fish.
- Grind the candlenuts finely in a blender or mortar and pestle. Roast them together with the desiccated coconut in a dry hot frying pan until golden brown.
- Mix the coconut milk with the lime and mandarin juice in a cup. Season with salt and white pepper.
- Mix the toasted desiccated coconut and candlenuts, together with the red chili pepper and vegetables, into the mackerel salad. Garnish with the basil and season with salt and pepper. If you find it too dry, add a little extra coconut milk.
- To finish it off completely, drizzle a splash of lime or lemon juice over it just before eating.
Maluku: a culinary journey to the Moluccas
Maluku – The Pure Cuisine of the Moluccan Islands is much more than a cookbook. Carl and Mas spent two months traveling through the Moluccas, searching for flavors that were at risk of disappearing. From Ambon to Seram, they ate, listened and cooked with locals everywhere.
The power of eating together
Alongside wonderful recipes such as this Koho koho, Maluku also contains beautiful stories about the power of eating together. As guide Stevi told the authors: in the Moluccas, villages have traditional pelabanden – bonds that represent unconditional loyalty. Even after a devastating civil war, villages came together again during a makan patita panas (warm picnic) to celebrate their connection. Because eating together means healing together. A heartwarming book!
Title: Maluku – The Pure Cuisine of the Moluccan Islands
Author: Carl Lemette-Polhaupessy & Mas van Putten
Price: €34.99
Publisher: Nijgh Cuisine (published May 20, 2025)
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