Chef Makoa
Lū Niue (Niuean Taro-Leaf Parcel with Coconut Cream)
Niue's lū folds young taro leaves around fish or chicken, coconut cream, and onion, then bakes the parcel slow until the leaf turns dark, silky, and rich.
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Chef Makoa
Rukau (Cook Islands Taro Leaves in Coconut Cream)
Cook Islands rukau takes taro leaf, onion, and coconut cream and cooks them down slow until the leaf turns dark and silky. Same elder root, Cook Islands hand.
Chef Makoa
Luau Pisupo (Sāmoan Corned-Beef Taro-Leaf Parcel)
Sāmoa's taro-leaf parcel made generous with pisupo, coconut cream, and time: a toʻonaʻi kind of comfort, with Tonga's lū pulu and Hawaiʻi's laulau sitting close as cousins.
Chef Makoa
Lū Sipi (Tongan Taro Leaves with Mutton)
Tonga's lū sipi wraps young taro leaves around fatty mutton, onion, and coconut cream, then cooks it slow until the leaf goes dark and the meat gives up soft.
Chef Makoa
Lū Pulu (Tongan Corned Beef in Taro Leaves)
Tonga's lū pulu folds taro leaves around corned beef, onion, and lolo niu coconut cream, then bakes it slow until leaf and meat turn soft, dark, and rich.
Chef Makoa
Chicken Lūʻau (Hawaiian Taro Leaves with Chicken)
Hawaiian chicken lūʻau is kalo leaf cooked past its bite with tender chicken and coconut milk, a windward Oʻahu comfort pot with cousins in Sāmoa's palusami, Tonga's lū, and Cook Islands rukau.
Chef Makoa
Fāfā (Tahitian Taro Leaves in Coconut Cream)
Tahiti's fāfā cooks young taro leaves down with onion and coconut cream until they turn dark, silky, and rich enough to feed the whole table.
Chef Makoa
Squid Lūʻau (Hawaiian Taro Leaves with Squid)
Hawaiʻi's squid lūʻau is taro leaf cooked long and dark with squid or heʻe, coconut milk, and patience, until the leaf turns silky and the sea settles into the cream.
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