Pork Lau Lau - Adventures of Carlienne

Hawaiian at Home

Pork Lau Lau!! I honestly think it’s an extremely sad thing that it’s not as big on the mainland as it is on the islands or at least as popular as the other dishes. It is an iconic Hawaiian dish and very easy to make. I guess it is a little tough to get taro leaves around here but you can usually find it in your local asian market. One thing about taro leaves you need to know is that they are poisonous when raw so please, please do not consume this leaf like it’s a salad. You need to cook the leaf thoroughly in order to safely consume it or else you’ll have a very itchy throat. Other than that very important message about taro leaves, there’s not much to this dish, so let’s get into it!

Materials

Baking dish
Wide Bowl for Mixing
Wooden Spoon
Foil

Ingredients

2lb Cubed Pork Butt
Heavy Sprinkle of Hawaiian Salt for seasoning
2-2.5lb Taro Leaves, Destemmed and washed – if taro leaves aren’t available and you still want to make this dish’s cousin, you may use spinach (Spinach is not poisonous).
*Ti Leaves if you can also find them but not necessary…Ti leaves are inedible! Do not eat it, but it’s great for steaming and presentation.

Guide: Easiest Way

Preheat oven to 350F.
After washing and cutting off the stem of the taro leaves, line the bottom of your baking dish with 3.5 layers of Taro leaves like it’s a bed.
In mixing bowl, season cubed pork butt with Hawaiian salt.
Place all pork on bed of taro leaves.
Top pork with the rest of taro leaves and tuck the sides in to trap as much steam as you can.
Cover with foil and cook for 3 hours. Check to see if pork is nice and tender with wooden spoon. It’s okay to mix the pork and leaves a bit as well to get taro leaves into some of the rendered pork fat for more flavor.
Cover with foil again and cook for 1 hour, check pork and give it a small mix. If needed cover and cook for another 30-45 minutes if not to your desired tenderness.
Plate and Enjoy!

Guide: Prettiest Way

Preheat oven to 350F.
After washing and cutting off the stem of the taro leaves, line the bottom of your baking dish with 3.5 layers of taro leaves like its a bed.
In mixing bowl, season cubed pork butt with Hawaiian salt.
Take 2-3 taro leaves and place flat on table. Grab handful and a half of pork butt and place in the middle of taro leaves and fold it up like you are making a present.
- Pro Tip: If you were able to find ti leaves, use them to wrap the taro/pork pouch mix for a nicer presentation and to better trap the steam.
Place pouches on bed of taro leaves.
Cover with foil and cook for 3 hours. Check to see if pork is nice and tender with wooden spoon. It’s okay to mix the pork and leaves a bit as well to get taro leaves into some of the rendered pork fat for more flavor.
Cover with foil again and cook for 1 hour, check pork and give it a small mix. If needed cover and cook for another 30-45 minutes if not to your desired tenderness.
Plate and enjoy!

Try it with:

Use chicken or fish as a filling and even try your own seasonings as well!
A mix of pork and butterfish is a great combo!

Tools Used To Make This Dish*

*I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.