AI-generated image
Lu pulu
Corned beef in taro leaves
Tongan taro-leaf parcels of corned beef, onion and coconut cream
Lu pulu is a Sunday dish in Tonga, cooked in the umu (earth oven) after church in Nuku'alofa and by Tongan families in Auckland and Sydney: taro leaves are layered into a cup, filled with corned beef, onion and thick coconut cream, wrapped in foil or banana leaf and baked until the leaves melt into a rich, silky parcel. It is served with boiled taro, yam or sweet potato. The mistake is undercooking the taro leaves: they must cook for at least an hour, as raw taro leaves irritate the mouth and throat. Chef's tip: if you can't find taro leaves, use large spinach or silverbeet leaves, cooked for 45 minutes.
- Total time
- 115 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 36 taro leavesstems removed, or large silverbeet leaves
- 1 ½ lb tinned corned beef2 tins, broken up
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 1 ¾ cups coconut cream1 tin
- ½ tsp salt
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F. Tear 6 squares of 1 roll of foil about 30 cm wide.
Step 2: On each square, layer 6 36 taro leaves, shiny side down, overlapping like a flower, to make a cup.
Step 3: Mix 1 ½ lb tinned corned beef with 1 onion and divide it between the leaf cups. Pour about 60 ml of 1 ¾ cups coconut cream over each and sprinkle with a little ½ tsp salt.
Step 4: Fold the leaves over the filling, then wrap the foil tightly round each parcel so no liquid escapes. Put them on a tray.
Step 5: Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes, until the leaves are completely soft and dark and the filling is bubbling and piping hot.
90 minStep 6: Rest for 5 minutes, open carefully (hot steam) and serve with boiled taro, yam or sweet potato.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Protein
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 40 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does lu pulu take?
- About 115 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 90 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Pork souvlaki
This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.
Greek
Pfälzer SaumagenStuffed pig's stomach
Saumagen is the pride of the Palatinate, served at wine-village festivals and family dinners from the Haardt hills to Ludwigshafen. A cleaned pig's stomach is stuffed with diced pork shoulder, pork sausage meat, potato and carrot seasoned with marjoram and nutmeg, poached slowly, then sliced thick and fried until crusty. The stomach works only as a casing and is ordered from a butcher; if you can't get one, bake the same filling in a covered terrine in a water bath. Serve with sauerkraut and mashed potato. Chef's tip: fill the stomach only three-quarters full, or it bursts as the potatoes swell.
German
Chha goshtLamb in buttermilk gravy
Up in the hill villages of Himachal Pradesh, where flocks are walked to summer pastures, lamb is often cooked in chhaachh, the thin buttermilk left after churning butter. Thickened with a spoonful of gram flour, it makes a pale, gently sour gravy that is milder and lighter than the red curries of the plains, and it is a favourite at dhams, the festive meals of the Kangra and Chamba valleys. Serve it with steamed rice or makki ki roti. Chef's tip: whisk the gram flour into the buttermilk until there are no lumps before it goes near the pot; once it hits the heat, any lumps stay lumps.
Indian