Squid Lūʻau (Hawaiian Taro Leaves with Squid)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 5- to 7-quart Dutch oven or thick-bottomed pot with lid
• •Long wooden spoon for stirring dense greens
• •Kitchen shears or sharp knife for trimming taro leaves and squid

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the leaf

   Rinse the lūʻau leaf well and strip away the thick stems and ribs, because those parts stay tough longer than the tender blade. If you're using frozen leaf, thaw it and squeeze out only the extra packing water, not every bit of life. The leaf still needs moisture for the long cook.

   Raw or undercooked taro leaf can scratch and burn the throat from oxalate crystals. Cook it fully soft, no shortcuts here.
2. 2

   Start it slow

   Put the leaves, onion, water, salt, and baking soda if using into a heavy pot. Cover and set over medium-low heat until the leaves collapse, then lower the heat and cook gently for 60 to 75 minutes, stirring now and then. At first the pot looks too full. Then Hāloa gives, the leaf darkens, and the whole thing settles down.

3. 3

   Cook to silk

   Keep cooking until the leaf is deep green-black, tender all the way through, and no longer sharp on the tongue. Add a splash of water if the bottom gets dry. You are not keeping a vegetable bright. You are taking a tough leaf past toughness, all the way to silk.

4. 4

   Tender the squid

   Fold in the squid and cook gently for 10 to 15 minutes, just until the rings turn opaque and tender. If you're using cooked heʻe, add it now and warm it through for about 10 minutes. Don't boil hard. Squid can go rubbery if you bully it, and no need make the ocean fight you.

   For very large squid or raw heʻe, simmer it separately in lightly salted water until tender, then cut it and add it to the lūʻau near the end.
5. 5

   Add coconut

   Stir in the coconut milk, coconut cream, butter if using, and sugar. Simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring often, until the cream thickens around the leaf and the surface turns glossy. Taste for salt and sweetness. It should be rich, earthy, a little briny, and soft enough to spoon.

6. 6

   Rest and serve

   Turn off the heat and let the pot rest 10 minutes so the coconut settles into the leaf. Serve warm with poi or rice, family-style, with the glossy coconut cream pooling dark and white-gold in the bowl. This is lūʻau-table food, but it eats just right on a weeknight too.

Chef Tips

• •Fresh lūʻau leaf is beautiful if you can get it, but frozen leaf from a Pacific market is real food and no shame. Eat what you have.
• •If the leaf still has any itch or bite, keep cooking. Add water, lower the heat, and give it time. No blame the taro.
• •Canned coconut milk works in today's kitchen. Fresh coconut milk gives a cleaner, sweeter body, but this Hawaiian pot has lived in real home kitchens a long time, butter, can, and all.
• •Serve with poi when you can. Rice is part of how Hawaiʻi eats now too, especially on a local plate, and this lūʻau loves both.

Advance Preparation

• •Trim and wash fresh lūʻau leaf up to 1 day ahead; keep it wrapped and chilled.
• •The taro leaves can be cooked down the day before. Rewarm gently, then add squid and coconut milk the day you serve so the seafood stays tender.
• •Leftovers keep 3 days chilled. Reheat low and slow with a splash of water or coconut milk, stirring so the cream doesn't scorch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 340g)