Hawaiian
Chunks of pork — traditionally belly or shoulder, bone-in and well-marbled — and often butterfish (black cod, Anoplopoma fimbria) are placed on a bed of luʻau leaves. The leaves are folded over the meat, and the bundle is wrapped in ti leaves to form a waterproof parcel. Traditionally these parcels are cooked in the imu alongside the kalua pig and taro, where they sit for six to eight hours in pressurised steam. What happens inside the parcel during those hours is alchemy. The taro leaves break down completely, collapsing from recognisable leaves into a dark, silky, spinach-like substance that melds with the rendered pork fat. The butterfish, already oil-rich, flakes into the green matrix, adding marine richness. The pork fat renders and bastes everything from within. The ti leaf exterior remains intact, holding all of this together. When the parcel is opened at the table, the contents are no longer identifiable as separate ingredients. They have become laulau — a unified preparation that is simultaneously meat, vegetable, sauce, and fat.
1. EXCEPTIONAL: Imu-cooked. Fresh luʻau leaves. Pork is well-marbled belly or shoulder with bone. Butterfish included. After six-plus hours, the taro leaves have dissolved into a dark, unctuous sauce. The ti leaf exterior is intact. The smoky depth of the imu permeates every layer. Opening this parcel is an event. 2. GOOD: Steamed four to six hours with quality ingredients. Taro leaves fully broken down. Missing the smoky dimension of imu cooking but texturally correct. 3. ADEQUATE: Shorter steaming (two to three hours). Leaves cooked but retaining identifiable leaf structure. Pork tender but not at the collagen-conversion stage. 4. INSUFFICIENT: Microwaved or oven-baked commercial laulau. Taro leaves still fibrous. Pork chewy. The fundamental chemistry of long, moist, low-temperature cooking has been bypassed. This is pork with greens, not laulau.
EXCEPTIONAL: Imu-cooked. Fresh luʻau leaves. Pork is well-marbled belly or shoulder with bone. Butterfish included. After six-plus hours, the taro leaves have dissolved into a dark, unctuous sauce. The ti leaf exterior is intact. The smoky depth of the imu permeates every layer. Opening this parcel is an event.
ADEQUATE: Shorter steaming (two to three hours). Leaves cooked but retaining identifiable leaf structure. Pork tender but not at the collagen-conversion stage. INSUFFICIENT: Microwaved or oven-baked commercial laulau. Taro leaves still fibrous. Pork chewy. The fundamental chemistry of long, moist, low-temperature cooking has been bypassed. This is pork with greens, not laulau.
Pacific Migration Trail