Lau Lau Kalua Pork With Butterfish Wrapped In Taro Leaves Food

LAU LAU

Steps:

• Season fish, pork and chicken with Hawaiian sea salt. Place 2 ti leaves in an X on a flat surface for each of the 4 servings.
• Place 1/4 of each of the fish, pork and chicken onto the center of 3 or 4 taro leaves. Wrap securely with the taro leaves, then place each wrap on a set of ti leaves. Tie the ends of the ti leaves together with a piece of string.
• Place the bundles in a large steamer, and steam for 3 to 4 hours.

HAWAIIAN LAU LAU

Steps:

• First, prep the two types of leaves. LUAU LEAVES: take the luau leaves and wash them thoroughly one by one. Chop off the bottom stem that extends past the bottom of the leaf. Chop that stem into 1/2-inch pieces and set aside. TI LEAVES: wash the ti leaves and pat dry. Remove the main/thickest vein that runs through the center of the ti leaf. Removing this vein allows the ti leave to be more pliable/easy to fold as you will be using it to wrap the fillings. Set aside.
• At a clean workstation, stack 3-5 luau leaves on the counter. Arrange them so that the biggest leaf is on the bottom and the smallest leaf is on top.
• In the center of the leaf, put in a few chunks of the pork butt and butterfish. Add 2-3 pieces each cubed carrots and purple Okinawan sweet potato, if using. Add several of the chopped luau leaf stems. Sprinkle over Hawaiian sea salt.
• Use the luau leaves to fold and wrap all the fillings in a tight bundle.
• Next, wrap the ti leaves around the luau leaf bundle. Use the ti leaf ends to tie a topknot. If the ends are too short, use a string to tie/secure the bundle.
• Put the wrapped lau lau in a steamer. Steam for three to four hours till nice and tender. Remove the ti leaf (you can't eat the ti leaf), and serve! Ideally with rice and/or poi, chili pepper water and all your favorite Hawaiian side dishes like lomi lomi salmon and chicken long rice. Don't forget the kulolo for dessert ^_^