LauLau
- 24 to 30 ti leaves
- About 50 lu au leaves
- 3 pounds pork shoulder or butt or chicken or beef
- 1 1/2 pounds salted butterfish
- 2 tablespoons Hawaiian salt
- Special equipment: A steamer large enough to easily accommodate a dozen laulau.
- First, wash the ti and lu au leaves.
- Then set them aside.
- Remove the center stem and fibrous veins from each lu au leaf.
- If you have tender, young lu au, you may be fine leaving the veins intact.
- Cut the pork into 12 pieces and rub with salt.
- Start heating a large steamer with water in the bottom.
- At this point, your prep work is done.
- Stack 4 to 5 lu au leaves on a flat surface, with leaf tips pointing in different directions.
- Place a piece of pork in the center of the leaf stack, and then a slice of fish on top.
- If you've decided to use the reserved lu au stems, add a tablespoon of diced stems.
- Fold the lu au leaf to enclose the bundle, much like you would enclose a burrito or wrap.
- You now need to choose a wrapping method, Package style or Ho okupu style.
- Wrap each laulau bundle in the style of your choosing, then place them in the steamer, stacking if necessary.
- Make sure to leave spaces between the laulau so that the steam can reach everywhere!
- Steam for 4 hours.
- Package Style Wrapping: Stack 4 to 5 lu au leaves on a flat surface, with leaf tips pointing in different directions.
- Place a piece of pork in the center of the leaf stack, and then a slice of fish on top.
- Fold the lu au leaf to enclose the bundle, much like you would enclose a burrito or wrap.
- Lay a ti leaf on your work surface and place the bundle at the tip end.
- It doesn't matter much if the ti leaf is shiny side up or down.
- Roll the bundle from the tip end of the ti leaf to the stem end, keeping it as tightly bundled as possible.
- Split the stem lengthwise all the way up to where it joins the main portion of the leaf.
- Pull the 2 stem lengths around the bundle, cinch them tight, then tie them together to hold the bundle in place.
- Place the tied bundle at the tip end of a second ti leaf, then roll it tightly from tip to stem end.
- Split the stem of the outer leaf all the way up to where it joins the main portion of the leaf and use it to tie off the bundle.
- You now have a neat laulau package, ready for steaming.
- Ho okupu Style Wrapping: Stack 4 to 5 lu au leaves on a flat surface, with leaf tips pointing in different directions.
- Place a piece of pork in the center of the leaf stack, and then a slice of fish on top.
- Fold the lu au leaf to enclose the bundle, much like you would enclose a burrito or wrap.Place the bundle in the middle of a ti leaf and bring the 2 ends of the ti leaf together over the top.
- Add a second ti leaf, so that the 2 ti leaves form a "t" shape under the lu au, and gather the ends of the ti leaves together at the top of the bundle.
- Make sure the ti leaves are gathered as tightly as you can, with no gaps between the leaves where lu au can leak out.
- If you have gaps, either reposition the leaves, or add a third leaf for additional coverage.
- Take the stem of 1 leaf and hook it around your thumb (to hold its position) then pull it around the gathered leaves.
- Tie the stem off securely with the stem of another leaf.
- You now have a neat laulau package, ready for steaming.
leaves, pork shoulder, butterfish, hawaiian salt
Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/laulau-recipe.html (may not work)