Boungna is the everyday family dish of Vanuatu, found across most of the islands — meat, fish or greens baked in coconut cream inside leaf parcels, often in an earth oven. It is the universal Pacific pairing of coconut and the day's catch.
Spoon up boungna — chicken pieces tender in pale golden coconut broth, dark green cabbage wilted around, ginger fragrant. Bite: chicken absorbs coconut richness, the cabbage adds gentle bitter-fresh contrast, ginger's warmth lingering. Simple, sustaining, deeply Pacific. With rice underneath catching the broth, this is the Vanuatu weekday dinner.
Browning builds Maillard depth. Coconut milk's fat carries flavors. Greens added late preserves color.
Variations
With pork instead of chicken. With added pumpkin. With more chili. With added taro. With curry powder. With added bamboo shoots.
On the Palate
Where Boungna sits in the Vanuatu flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
9 steps · 25 min active · 35 min waiting
- 14 min
Cut 800 g chicken into 8 pieces. Season with salt, pepper.
- 212 min
Heat 2 tbsp coconut oil in a heavy pot. Brown chicken in batches 4 min per side; remove.
- 36 min
Sauté 1 sliced onion + 4 minced garlic + 1 thumb grated ginger 5 min.
- 44 min
Add 1 minced chili, 1 chopped tomato; cook 3 min.
- 54 min
Return chicken; add 400 ml coconut milk + 200 ml water + 1 tsp salt.
- 626 min
Cover; simmer 25 min until chicken is tender.
- 76 min
Add 400 g island cabbage (or bok choy) cut into wedges; cook 5 min until wilted.
- 81 min
Taste; adjust salt.
- 91 min
Serve hot over rice or boiled cassava.
