Native Hawaiians hold luaus to celebrate birthdays, graduations and weddings. Of course, luaus also can be general potluck parties with each guest bringing an appropriate dish. They are usually held in a backyard in a tent with woven palm fronds for walls and tent poles decorated with leaves, fern and flowers. Luau food traditionally is served buffet style, with the main course being Kalua Pua'a or roast pork. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Kalua Pua'a
Kalua Pua'a traditionally is prepared in an underground pit called an "imu" and slowly steamed for several hours. However, you can prepare the pork more easily in an oven or slow cooker. Take a 3 lb. pork butt and pierce it all over with a carving fork. Rub it with 1 1/2 tsp. of liquid smoke and 2 1/4 tsp. of sea salt. Place it fat side up in a covered roasting pan or casserole dish in a preheated 350 degree F oven. Roast for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Or, place the pork butt in a slow cooker and cook on low for 16 to 20 hours; turn the meat once. Remove from the oven or slow cooker, shred the pork and add the juices. A 3 lb. pork butt will serve approximately six people.
Other Main Dishes
Teriyaki chicken or beef are common dishes at luaus. Other chicken dishes to consider are shoyu chicken, huli huli chicken or chicken long rice. Long rice is actually bean thread noodles. Another beef dish is pipi kaula, a Hawaiian style beef jerky, made from marinated flank steak strips. Mahi mahi would be an excellent choice for a main fish offering, either grilled or baked with a mayonnaise and bread crumb coating. You also could serve macadamia nut crusted coconut shrimp with orange lime sauce.
Side Dishes
Two traditional fish side dishes are poke and lomi lomi salmon. Poke is bite sized pieces of raw, sashimi-grade fish, usually ahi or yellowfin tuna, marinated in soy sauce, minced yellow and green onions and sesame oil. Lomi lomi is raw, salt-cured salmon diced with tomatoes, onions and flavored with lime juice and dashes of Tabasco, sugar and pepper. Poi is a standard dish at luaus. It consists of boiled taro roots that are pounded and mixed with water for a smooth consistency. You could be adventurous and try making the dish if you have access to taro but poi is definitely an acquired taste. Sweet potatoes are another staple. Provide a simple green salad and plenty of rice to accompany the dishes.
Desserts
Prepare a fresh tropical fruit platter with a pineapple cut in sections as the centerpiece surrounded by papaya, mango, kiwi, passion fruit and watermelon slices. Alternatively, serve tropical fruit sorbets. Haupia, or cubed coconut custard, is a popular luau dessert. For something more substantial, offer a guava cake
Tags: pork butt, slow cooker, oven slow, oven slow cooker, tropical fruit