Lau Lau Recipes

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 ^_^

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.

CAO LAU (VIETNAMESE NOODLE BOWL)

Steps:

• Whisk soy sauce, garlic, Chinese 5-spice, sugar, paprika, and chicken bouillon together in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Add pork cubes and toss to evenly coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
• Remove pork from marinade and shake off excess. Discard remaining marinade.
• Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Cook and stir pork in hot oil until browned, 4 to 7 minutes. Add water; cook and stir until water evaporates and pork is cooked through, about 2 minutes more.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Rinse rice noodles under cold water and gently break noodles apart. Immerse noodles in boiling water until about half tender, about 30 seconds. Add bean sprouts to the water and noodles; continue cooking until tender but still firm to the bite, about 30 seconds more. Drain.
• Combine noodles and pork mixture together in a large serving dish. Top noodles with lettuce, green onion, basil, cilantro, and crispy chow mein.

CHICKEN AND PORK LAU LAU

Steps:

• For the luau leaves, have a large bowl of ice water standing by. In a large pot fitted with a steamer basket (or use a stainless steel colander with handles), steam the luau leaves until soft but still bright green, and then plunge the steamer basket into the ice water to stop the cooking. Set the steamer basket on a utility platter or over a pot to let drain well and cool.
• Lay the steamed luau leaves out on your work surface, then lay a piece of chicken or a piece of pork on each leaf topped with a piece of fish. Season with sea salt. Enclose the meat and fish in the luau leaves and then package them in ti leaves or aluminum foil. If you are using ti leaves, arrange the leaves perpendicular to each other in across arrangement. The stem of the ti leaf acts as the "string" to tie the package shut. The chicken and pork lau lau can then be cooked in an imu (the earthen oven) or in a conventional oven at 350 degrees F until cooked through, about 1 hour. For a description of the imu, please refer to the recipe for Whole Kahlua Pig Roasted in an Imu for a Luau.