Fifty Pound Bambucha Lū‘au Stew

Sam Choy

NOTE: Amounts can be reduced to fit pot.

INGREDIENTS:

10 lbs lū‘au (kalo leaf)
25 lbs beef (stew meat)
25 lb pork (boston butt)
2 lbs Hawaiian rock salt
1 whole salt salmon (soaked in water to remove salt)
1 whole salt butter fish (soaked in water to remove salt)
5 bunches tī-leaf (for wrapping)
heavy duty tinfoil (for wrapping)
muslin, thick material for wrapping lū‘au

DIRECTIONS:

Cut stew meat and pork in chunk sizes if not done already.
Clean the lū‘au leaves by rinsing them in water and trimming off the stems.
Spread out muslin material and place tin foil on top. Pile ½ of lū‘au leaf in center.
Salt meat and pork making sure they are well coated. Place meat in center of leaves and repeat procedure with pork on top.
Place remainder of lū‘au leaf on top of pork.
Take salmon and put on top of 3 tī-leaves and wrap with foil. Do same with butter fish.
Place both fish on top of pile and cover the pile with the remainder of the tī-leaf and finish wrapping with a cover of tin foil.
Take the ends of the material and tie together tightly, forming a large bundle.
Place the bundle in a large pot with a rack on the bottom. Fill the bottom of the pot with 4–6 inches of water.
Cook on high until water comes to a boil. Lower to low heat and cook for 8–14 hours, making sure that there is enough water in pot at all times.
After cooking, remove from pot and let drain for an hour before serving.