Oven Lau Lau

This recipe reminds me of a scene from the movie “The Joy Luck Club”.  The aunties are playing mah jong and one of the younger niece’s states with confidence that she has played mah jong before with her Jewish friends in college.  The aunties glare at her and say with absolute conviction; “No-No”.  “That is Jewish mah jong, not Chinese mah jong.”  As if there is a difference…

There might not be any difference when it comes to mah jong but there is a clear difference between Hawaiian and Mainland Lau Lau’s. 

In Oregon FOIL takes the place of ti leaves, SALMON replaces the butter fish, luau (taro) leaves often get swapped out with SPINACH and the piece of pork fat gets traded for a CHICKEN WING.  You might be thinking… pork fat?  Yup, most of the time the fat completely melts away during the cooking, leaving behind no trace that it was even there.  Isn't ignorance bliss?  So as you can see, mainland lau laus are not quite the same, but they are still 'ONO" (delicious) and easy to make if you can find the right ingredients.  Once you have them wrapped, the work is done.  If you used a steamer you would have to watch the water level for 4 - 6 hours "humbug" (such a bother).  In the oven it needs no attention at all.

I use chicken wings in place of the pork fat because the butchers here trim most of the fat away (which is a good thing, but not for lau lau).  Lau laus need fat to keep everything moist and a chicken wing does a great job of basting the meat as it cooks, adding just enough fat to keep everything moist.

When I was a keiki (child) making lau lau was an all family event that also included hanai ohana (adopted family) to share in the work and be rewarded with onolicious fresh lau lau.  My job (I think I got this job because nobody wanted it) was to stem and clean two 50 pound bags of luau leaves.  I was taught to cut the stem on the leaf with a small paring knife, but not all the way through so I could cut away some of the thick part of the vein right next to the stem.  One of the elders also told me to remove the pointy tip of each leaf, because if I didn't, it would make my throat itchy.  Turns out to be just a myth, but after cleaning literally hundreds of pounds of luau leaves that way... I can’t stop myself from pinching off the tip of each leaf.

Not all the time, but on occasion I can find taro leaves at one of my favorite Asian grocers in Portland.  This was one of those times.  In my opinion there is no replacement for taro leaves.  They have a flavor that is not easily duplicated.  But if you can't find taro leaves you could use fresh spinach leaves.  Just make sure you use a lot because spinach will shrink down to almost nothing when it cooks.  So pack it in!

A few things to think about when making lau lau...

Ø  If you use fresh spinach it will cook in half the time (1 ½ hours instead of 3 hours).  But if you can find taro leaves it would be worth the extra cooking time!

Ø  In reference to the itchy throat myth; Taro leaves need to be cooked thoroughly and for a minimum of 40 minute or they will make your throat itch.  The itch comes from under-cooking, not the pointy tip, as I was lead to believe as a child.

Ø  Salt is the only seasoning that is commonly used when making lau lau so it is important to salt the meat and chicken well.  Make sure you use Kosher or Hawaiian Salt.  Don't use table salt it will make your lau laus too salty. Sometimes if I plan ahead, I will salt the pork and fish overnight in the fridge.  But it is not necessary.

Ø  I didn't use fish when I made these lau laus but if you do, cut one pound of salmon or black cod it into 6 pieces and season with about 2 tsp. kosher salt.  Then  place it under the chicken wing with the pork when wrapping.

Ø  If you want to add a touch of smokiness to your lau lau.  Add a couple drops of liquid smoke before wrapping.

Ø  I use the wing mostly for flavor rather than substance.  If you want a lau lau with more chicken meat, use thighs.

OVEN LAU LAU (makes 6)

3          pounds            fresh taro leaves

2          pounds            pork butt, cut into 6 large chunks

6          whole               chicken thighs or wings

1          pound              black cod or salmon, cut into 6 pieces (optional)

1 ½      Tbsp.               kosher salt

Wash taro leaves in a cold tap water bath and remove stems, big vein by the stem and pointy tip at the top of the leaf and discard.

Cut pork into 6 large chunks or 12 smaller pieces (the smaller pieces will cook faster) and season with 1Tbsp. kosher salt; mix well and divide into 6 portions; set aside.

Season chicken with ½ Tablespoon kosher salt; mix well and set aside.

Divide taro leaves into 6 stacks placing the larger leaves on the outside so its easier to wrap.  Place one portion of pork and one chicken wing in the middle of each pile of taro leaves.

 Fold into a tight bundle like you would a burrito and wrap each bundle with foil.

Place bundles into a large dutch oven with a tight fitting lid or a roasting pan covered with foil along with 1 cup of water.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 3 - 4 hours hours.