K? lua is a traditional Hawaiian cooking method using imu, a type of underground oven. The word k? Lua , which literally means "cooking in the underground oven", can also be used to describe foods cooked in this way, such as k? Lua pigs or k? Lua turkey, which is usually served at luau party. Luau, in Hawaii is actually the name of the taro leaves, which when young and small after being steamed for several hours resembling cooked spinach. The traditional luau is eaten on the floor above the lauhala (the leaves of the tree are united) mats.
Traditionally, hardwood fires are built in holes big enough to accommodate the foods you cook, the stones, and the herbs used to cover food. The stone is placed above the fire inside the hole, takes about 2-3 hours to reach its maximum temperature. Most important is the selection of stones that contain very little moisture to avoid exploding stones from steam generated by heat. Once the stones become very hot, they are scattered over the coal and the hole is filled with vegetation like banana trees that have been pounded to make them supple. The ti leaf layer (Cordyline fruticosa) will then spread over the layer of banana tree that is pounded and the food to be cooked is placed on it. The meat to be cooked will be marinated and in the example of whole pork cooking, some hot stones will also be placed inside the body cavity to ensure the meat is fully cooked.
To maintain even warming and to maintain the natural moisture of the meat, the meat is covered with more vegetation layers such as ti and banana leaves and then covered with a layer of soil at least several inches in ensuring that no escaping vapors. Layers of vegetation covering the food must go beyond the ends of the hole to ensure food is not contaminated by the soil buried beneath it. The meat is then allowed to mature in the hole for several hours. When the meat is fully cooked, the meat is removed from the imu and grated. Modern adaptations to traditional cooking methods include the use of wet jute as a substitute for vegetation or to reduce the amount of vegetation required, as well as the use of non-galvanized steel wire or mesh wrapped around food to aid in cooking removal. Characteristic of Pig Kalua is given by smoke from hardwood but more important is the use of ti leaf to wrap the meat. Ti leaf flavor is what distinguishes Babi Kalua from other methods of slowly cooking pigs using hardwood fires.
K? Lua pigs are a major tourist attraction in many luaus, although sometimes made using gas or electric stoves with artificial gunpowder or kiawe. Other tourism businesses use replacements as vegetation substitutes or using imu pao, variations on the ground from imu. The term "Kalua pig" has been used by the famous Hawaiian cook, Sam Choy, to describe the pork bottom rubbed with sea salt, wrapped in ti leaf, and slowly cooked in an oven using liquid mesquite smoke rather than imu.
At one time, the standards imposed by the US Department of Agriculture prevented traditional pork from being sold commercially except in Hawaii.
Video Kalua
See also
Maps Kalua
References
External links
- How to create im (imu site: Kahalu'u, O'ahu, Hawai'i. Courtesy of Hawaiian Kava Center, LLC).
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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