Laulau
intro
Traditional Hawaiian laulau features tender pork and buttery fish wrapped in earthy taro leaves, slow-steamed for a rich, savory, deeply comforting island flavor.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep filling ingredients
Pat 450g of boneless pork butt (cut into 4 equal chunks) dry with paper towels, rub all surfaces evenly with 1 tablespoon of Hawaiian alaea sea salt, and set aside for 10 minutes at room temperature. Cut 115g of salted butterfish into 4 equal 28g pieces, checking for and removing any stray pin bones with tweezers.
Prepare leaf wrappers
Rinse 16 large luau (taro) leaves and 8 large ti leaves thoroughly under cool running water to remove surface dirt. Trim the thick, fibrous stem and central rib from each luau leaf, and trim the thick rigid center rib from each ti leaf so leaves lie completely flat. Pat leaves dry gently with a clean kitchen towel, discarding any leaves with large holes or tears.
Assemble luau bundles
For each individual serving, layer 4 luau leaves on a clean work surface, overlapping the centers to form a 20cm wide solid circle with no gaps. Place 1 salted pork chunk and 1 piece of butterfish in the exact center of the leaf circle. Fold the edges of the luau leaves up and over the filling, pressing tightly to form a sealed, compact 10cm round packet with no exposed filling.
Wrap in ti leaves
Lay 2 ti leaves per bundle in a cross shape on the work surface. Place the sealed luau leaf packet in the center of the ti leaf cross. Fold the ti leaf ends up over the packet, overlapping tightly, and tie securely with a 1cm wide strip of leftover ti leaf to hold the bundle closed, double-checking there are no gaps for steam or filling to escape.
Preheat the steamer
Fill a large 12L stock pot with 5cm of cool water, place a bamboo or metal steamer basket inside, ensuring the water level sits 2cm below the bottom of the basket to avoid boiling water touching the bundles. Bring water to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium to maintain a steady, gentle stream of steam.
Slow-steam the laulau
Arrange the tied laulau bundles in the steamer basket in a single layer, leaving 2cm of space between each bundle for even steam circulation. Cover the steamer tightly with a lid, and steam for 3 full hours over medium heat, checking the water level every 45 minutes and adding 250ml of boiling water as needed to prevent the pot from boiling dry.
Rest and serve
After 3 hours of steaming, turn off the heat, and let the laulau rest in the covered steamer for 10 minutes to allow juices to redistribute. Carefully remove bundles with tongs, unwrap and discard the tough outer ti leaves, and serve the tender luau-wrapped filling warm.
Tips
2.If fresh ti leaves are hard to source, you can wrap the luau leaf bundles tightly in aluminum foil for steaming, but fresh ti leaves add a subtle, grassy, earthy aroma that foil cannot replicate.
3.When assembling luau leaf wraps, patch any small holes or tears with extra pieces of luau leaf to prevent melted pork fat and fish juices from leaking out into the steamer during cooking.
OMG this tastes exactly like the laulau I get from my grandma’s luau every summer! I was so nervous to try making it at home since I always thought it was super complicated, but the step by step for wrapping the ti leaves was so easy to follow. I brought a batch to my office potluck last week and everyone was begging for the recipe. SO good, will be making this monthly for ohana dinners from now on!
First time making any kind of Hawaiian food, and this turned out way better than I expected! My only note is I had a hard time finding fresh ti leaves at my local grocery store, did I miss a note about a substitute? Flavor was on point though, the pork was fall apart tender, even my picky 8 year old ate two servings no complaints.
As someone who’s gluten and dairy free, I’m always hunting for recipes that don’t need a million swaps to fit my diet, and this is perfect! No weird additives, just whole, simple ingredients, and the flavor is unreal. I added a little extra butterfish like my local Hawaiian spot does, and it came out so rich and savory. My kids loved it, they kept asking for seconds before they even finished their first serving!
Game changer! I prepped a big batch of these on Sunday for my weekly lunches, and they held up perfectly all week in the fridge. I swapped the pork for chicken thighs since that’s what I had on hand, and it was chef’s kiss. Does anyone know if these freeze well? I want to make a double batch next month for our family camping trip.
Made this for my partner’s birthday dinner since he’s from Maui and has been homesick lately, and he teared up after the first bite! Said it tasted just like the laulau his tutu used to make for him when he was little. The 3.5 hour cook time is totally worth it, don’t rush the steaming process y’all, that low and slow is what makes the meat so melt-in-your-mouth tender. 10/10, no notes.
Tried this for our neighborhood block party this past weekend, and it was a total hit! I was worried the taro leaves would be too bitter if I didn’t prep them right, but I followed the note to remove the thick veins and cook them fully, and there was zero itchiness or bitter aftertaste. My only mishap was a few of the wraps came undone while steaming, any tips for keeping them tight?
Wait, quick question—this says medium difficulty, but I’ve literally never steamed anything for longer than 20 minutes before. Is there a common mistake people make with this recipe that I should watch out for? I want to make this for my Hawaiian themed dinner party next weekend but I’m low key panicking I’ll mess it up lol.