🌍 FlavorBridge View Interactive Recipe →
Tahitian Poisson Cru 🌺 Pacific Island Cuisine

Tahitian Poisson Cru

Tahiti's national dish: ultra-fresh raw tuna marinated in lime juice until just barely opaque, then bathed in rich coconut milk with crisp cucumber, tomato, and scallion. The Pacific in a bowl.

⏱20 min prep 🍽4 servings 📊easy

The Cultural Story

In Tahiti, Poisson Cru — raw fish — is not an exotic delicacy. It is Tuesday lunch. It is what you make when you have fresh tuna from the morning market and ripe limes from the tree in the yard. The dish arrives at the table quickly, requires almost no equipment, and tastes like the sea itself: bright and cold and clean, with the richness of coconut milk underneath holding everything together. The technique is pure acid: the tuna is cut into cubes and submerged in fresh lime juice for exactly the right amount of time — not so short that it is completely raw, not so long that it becomes opaque and tough like a full ceviche cure. Fifteen to twenty minutes is the Tahitian consensus. The fish changes at the edges, becoming pale and slightly firm, while the interior remains sashimi-soft. Then the coconut milk goes in — full-fat, straight from the tin or freshly pressed — and neutralizes the acid while adding a fatty, tropical sweetness that somehow makes the lime taste more lime-like. The garnish is not an afterthought: thinly sliced cucumber for crunch, diced tomato for brightness, scallions, sometimes shredded carrot for color. Served in a bowl lined with lettuce leaves or simply in a wooden bowl with bread. This is the most famous dish in French Polynesia, ordered at every roulotte (street food truck) in Papeete, made in every family kitchen from Tahiti to Bora Bora. Nothing represents the Pacific more directly: the ocean, the coconut palm, and the sun.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1Cure the fish: place tuna cubes in a non-reactive bowl (glass or ceramic). Pour lime juice over the fish and add salt. Toss gently to coat every piece. The fish should be mostly submerged. Cover and refrigerate for 15–20 minutes — no more. The flesh will turn pale at the edges but remain soft inside. This is correct.
  2. 2While the fish cures, prepare your vegetables: dice the cucumber and tomato (remove seeds from both to keep the dish from getting watery), slice the scallions, mince the red onion if using, and grate the carrot.
  3. 3After 15–20 minutes, drain most of the lime marinade from the fish — leaving just a tablespoon or two clinging to the cubes. This is important: if you add the coconut milk without draining, the dish will be too acidic.
  4. 4Pour the coconut milk over the drained fish. Add the cucumber, tomato, scallions, and any optional vegetables. Stir gently to combine.
  5. 5Taste and adjust: add more salt if needed. Add a drop of hot sauce if you want gentle heat. The balance should be bright and coconutty with a clean lime finish.
  6. 6Serve immediately or within 30 minutes — the fish continues to "cook" in the acid and will become tough if it sits too long. Serve in bowls lined with lettuce, or alongside a baguette for scooping, or over white rice.
  7. 7This is not a make-ahead dish. It is best eaten within the hour it is made, cold, with something cold to drink.

Cook this with the full experience

Join FlavorBridge to explore authentic recipes from cultures around the world — with comments, ratings, and the stories behind every dish.

Open Interactive Recipe →