Lunch: LauLau

A traditional Hawaiian dish to feed a crowd.

Ingredients

50 or so lu au leaves
24 to 30 ti leaves
3 lb pork shoulder, or butt or chicken or beef
1 1/2 lbs salted butterfish
2 tablespoons Hawaiian salt

Instructions

Special equipment: A steamer large enough to easily accommodate a dozen laulau.
First, wash the ti and lu au leaves. Then set them aside. Remove the center stem and fibrous veins from each lu au leaf. If you have tender, young lu au, you may be fine leaving the veins intact.
Cut the pork into 12 pieces and rub with salt. Start heating a large steamer with water in the bottom. At this point, your prep work is done.
Stack 4 to 5 lu au leaves on a flat surface, with leaf tips pointing in different directions. Place a piece of pork in the center of the leaf stack, and then a slice of fish on top. If you've decided to use the reserved lu au stems, add a tablespoon of diced stems. Fold the lu au leaf to enclose the bundle, much like you would enclose a burrito or wrap.
You now need to choose a wrapping method, Package style or Ho okupu style. Wrap each laulau bundle in the style of your choosing, then place them in the steamer, stacking if necessary. Make sure to leave spaces between the laulau so that the steam can reach everywhere! Steam for 4 hours.
Package Style Wrapping: Stack 4 to 5 lu au leaves on a flat surface, with leaf tips pointing in different directions. Place a piece of pork in the center of the leaf stack, and then a slice of fish on top.
Fold the lu au leaf to enclose the bundle, much like you would enclose a burrito or wrap.
Lay a ti leaf on your work surface and place the bundle at the tip end. It doesn't matter much if the ti leaf is shiny side up or down.
Roll the bundle from the tip end of the ti leaf to the stem end, keeping it as tightly bundled as possible. Split the stem lengthwise all the way up to where it joins the main portion of the leaf.
Pull the 2 stem lengths around the bundle, cinch them tight, then tie them together to hold the bundle in place.
Place the tied bundle at the tip end of a second ti leaf, then roll it tightly from tip to stem end.
Split the stem of the outer leaf all the way up to where it joins the main portion of the leaf and use it to tie off the bundle. You now have a neat laulau package, ready for steaming.
Ho okupu Style Wrapping: Stack 4 to 5 lu au leaves on a flat surface, with leaf tips pointing in different directions. Place a piece of pork in the center of the leaf stack, and then a slice of fish on top.
Fold the lu au leaf to enclose the bundle, much like you would enclose a burrito or wrap. Place the bundle in the middle of a ti leaf and bring the 2 ends of the ti leaf together over the top.
Add a second ti leaf, so that the 2 ti leaves form a "t" shape under the lu au, and gather the ends of the ti leaves together at the top of the bundle.
Make sure the ti leaves are gathered as tightly as you can, with no gaps between the leaves where lu au can leak out. If you have gaps, either reposition the leaves, or add a third leaf for additional coverage. Take the stem of 1 leaf and hook it around your thumb (to hold its position) then pull it around the gathered leaves.
Tie the stem off securely with the stem of another leaf. You now have a neat laulau package, ready for steaming.

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