Pele Moa (Tongan Chicken and Island Spinach in Coconut Cream)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 5-quart Dutch oven or deep covered pot
• •Wooden spoon for folding the greens
• •Wide bowl or colander for washing lau pele

Instructions

1. 1

   Season the chicken

   Pat the chicken dry and season it with the salt and pepper. Let it sit while you wash and cut the lau pele. That little rest gives the salt time to wake the meat before it meets the coconut cream.

2. 2

   Brown it lightly

   Warm the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Brown the chicken in one layer, 3 to 4 minutes per side, just until the surface takes color. You're not trying to cook it through yet. You only want a little brown sweetness in the bottom of the pot.

   If the pot crowds, brown in batches. Crowded chicken sweats, and then the sauce starts tired.
3. 3

   Soften the aromatics

   Lift the chicken to a plate. Add the onion to the same pot and cook until it softens and picks up the browned bits, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger, and chile if using, and cook until the smell turns round and sweet, about 1 minute.

4. 4

   Simmer in lolo

   Return the chicken to the pot with any juices. Pour in the coconut cream and stock, then bring it to a gentle simmer. Keep the heat low enough that the lolo trembles instead of boiling hard. Hard boiling can split the cream and toughen the chicken, and no need do that to good food.

5. 5

   Fold in pele

   Add the lau pele by handfuls, folding it down into the coconut cream as it wilts. Cover and cook gently for 25 to 35 minutes, until the chicken is tender at the bone and the greens have gone soft, glossy, and dark. The sauce should look rich and cling to the leaf, not watery.

6. 6

   Finish and serve

   Taste the pot and adjust the salt. Add lime only if the richness wants a small lift, then scatter green onion over the top if you're using it. Serve hot-warm over rice, boiled talo, or ʻulu, with plenty of coconut sauce spooned over. This is a family pot. Put it where hands can reach.

Chef Tips

• •Fresh lau pele is the right leaf if you can find it at a Pacific market. Frozen pele works well too. If you use taro leaves instead, cook them fully soft so they lose their raw bite. If all you have is spinach, use it and call it a weeknight cousin, not the same leaf.
• •Fresh coconut cream carries the soul of a lot of western Polynesian food. Squeeze it from grated mature coconut when you can. A thick can is still honest food on a Tuesday night.
• •Bone-in chicken gives the sauce more body. Boneless thighs work when time is short, but check them earlier so they don't go dry.
• •This pot is good with rice, but don't forget the older starches. Boiled talo, breadfruit, or green banana will sit under that lolo like they were waiting for it.

Advance Preparation

• •Wash and stem the lau pele up to 1 day ahead, wrap it in a clean towel, and refrigerate it in a loose bag.
• •The stew can be cooked 1 day ahead and reheated gently over low heat. Add a splash of water or coconut cream if the sauce tightens.
• •Fresh coconut cream is best squeezed the day you cook. It separates and sours if it sits too long.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 285g)