i am me.....

OMG!! Uncle Keoki's Laulau!!

Yesterday my nephew Kaj came for a 16 day (YAY!!) visit. We are doing the whole SoCal amusement park tour in the next two weeks, but that is not the subject of my post.

The REAL subject of this post is the Laulau that my 'ohana so kindly packed in his luggage for us. For those of your uninitiated in Hawaiian food, it is a bundle of heaven, and let me tell you the one thing this particular 'brand" that I now have in my belly is not your ordinary laulau. It is the BEST in the islands! Lots of luau wrapped around the most tender and flavorful meat. So ONO! So what does luau taste like? Apparently it tastes like spinach to some people.

So who is Uncle Keoki? He is this local bruddah that sells his laulau on the side of the road only on the weekends on the Windward side in Kahalu'u. Now don't get his laulau confused with the pre-packaged Keoki's laulau in the stores, because they are worlds apart.

Here is a simple explanation of laulau from wikipedia:

"Laulau is a Hawaiian dish. Traditionally, it consisted of pork wrapped in Kalo Hala, or taro leaf.

In old Hawaii, laulau was assembled by taking a few luau leaves and placing a few pieces of fish and pork in the center. The ends of the luau leaf are folded and wrapped again in ti leaf. When ready, all the laulau is placed in an underground oven, called an imu. Hot rocks are placed on the dish and covered in banana leaves and buried again. A few hours later the laulau is ready to eat.

In modern times, the dish uses taro leaves, salted butterfish, and either pork, beef, or chicken and is usually steamed on the stove. Laulau is a typical plate lunch dish and is usually served with a side of rice and macaroni salad."

I agree with most of the wikipedia explanation except that is is not a typical plate lunch dish and it's not usually served with macaroni salad. It is traditionally served with poi (mashed taro root), and lomilomi salmon (a tomato, onion, and salted salmon salad of sorts), and some other sides. Many people eat laulau with rice. Do yourself a favor and try one if you get the chance. :-)

Here are some recipes for different laulau flavors(Chicken/Pumpkin, Seafood, & Vegetarian):

http://starbulletin.com/1999/09/15/features/story1.html

Common Hawaii Myths (aka we don't surf all day)

• No we do NOT drink Hawaiian Punch
• No we do NOT spend all day surfing at the beach
• Yes we use American money (um…we have been part of the US since 1959!)
• We don't live in grass huts
• Not everyone speaks "Hawaiian" – though I think they should
• There are no flamingos or parrots running around on the loose
• We don't limbo
• Our luau or parties aren't decorated with tiki, flamingo's , shells, hibiscus or parrots and the Beach Boys isn't considered luau music
• The Hawaiian Pizza is not the top rated pizza choice. Pepperoni is. There is nothing Hawaiian about Ham & Pineapple
• Just because you put Coconut or Pineapple on something doesn't make it Hawaiian.
• Teriyaki isn't Hawaiian –it's Japanese in origin
• Teriyaki Chicken, Chicken Katsu, Spam Musubi and Loco Moco aren't Hawaiian foods they are what we call "Local" foods. Hawaiian food is: Poi, Limu Poke, Squid Luau, Uala, Opihi, etc.
• What people call a Hawaiian "accent" is actually it's own language called Hawaii Pidgin Creole

Now on the other hand………

You Know You From Hawaii If...

• You buy large quantities of toilet paper in case there's a longshoreman strike...
• You don't understand why anyone would buy less than a 20 lb bag of rice...
• You have or would serve spam as a meat for dinner...
• You can taste the difference between teriyaki and kal-bi...
• You know what a Plumeria is and which color would die first: yellow, white or red...
• You know why there are shoes and slippers outside of front doors...
• You know why there are alphabets on trees or any posts on graduation day...
• You know what lei day is...
• You know what is "stink eye"; and how to give it...
• You know what nationality girl would put tape on her eyelids and why...
• You can correctly pronounce Kalanianaole, Kalakaua and Aiea…
• You know what is in the big breakfast at McDonald's …
• You know what a "huli huli chicken" is...
• You can name 3 varieties of mangos...
• You have at least one family member whose name is "_____ boy; or "tita"...
• You have said "wat, owe you money?"; "karang your alas"; or "da kine"...
• You know the difference between being hapa and being hapai…
• You give directions using mauka and makai...
• You know what is "hawaii pono'i"...
• You know what it takes to get into Kamehameha school...
• You know how to correctly pronounce "Likelike"...
• Someone says the word "UKU" and your head starts itching. eeww...
• You raise your chin to say "wassup" instead of nodding. (like one haole)...
• When making "Shaka" the back of your hand is facing out…
• You say, "Nori" not seaweed paper...
• You say "Brah" not "Bro"...
• You despise the movie "North Shore"...
• You know why Sharks Cove is called Sharks Cove...
• When your jokes are 'bout Portuguese not Polish...
• You laugh at couples with cheesy Aloha attire...
• If you get one pair of "tata" slippers...
• When you e-mail mail people in pidgin...
• You know what "Morgan's Corner" is. (And it still scares you!)
• If you're immune to "leptospirosis"...
• When it's 70 degrees and it's freezing to you…
• You use "tako" instead of worms or fluorescent pink fish eggs for bait...
• You got lickins' with "da rubbah slippah"...
• If you can walk through Waianae and not get mobbed...
• You know that "Kukui nut" is not some mental person...
• You've given Kahi Mohala's number out to a guy/girl you didn't like...
• You call it "saimin" not "Top Ramen"...
• The surf report is on your speed dial...
• Your local kids wear slippers and shorts in November in Michigan!(inside the house, of course!)...
• Rainbow Drive-Inn is a special date…
• You go Kam, not Aloha, swap meet…
• You know pineapples don't grow in trees…
• When you hear the words fund raiser, you know it means Zippy's Chili…
• Your mouth waters when you hear the words li-hing mui…
• You can understand and speak PIDGIN english…
• You go to dinner and "make one plate" with all the extra food leftover…
• You automatically take off your shoes in people's homes…
• You wear rubber slippers to the beach…
• You eat rice every single day…
• It's "shave ice" not" snow cones"…
• When you know NEVER to turn your back to the ocean…
• You know what ukus are and have had them at least once before when you was one little keiki…
• You've been to almost all of the other islands…
• You get impatient with all of those bikers on the road that came from Haleakala…
• When someone says to "dress up" it means one nice aloha shirt and jeans…
• You eat coconuts straight from the shell - and drink the juice…
• You went to the War Memorial Stadium parking lot to learn how to drive…
• You've worked in the pineapple fields...
• You know where all the creepy places (like burial sites) are in the island…
• You know you aren't supposed to whistle at night time, cross your chopsticks, or stick your fork straight out of your rice…
• You eat Arare…
• You know what "tutu" means…
• You learned to play the ukulele in elementary school…
• It's SHOYU, not soy sauce...
• To you, sushi means sushi, not RAW FISH!
• You eat malasadas…
• You have a billion pairs of slippers in front your door when your family gets together…
• Your house has residue from the salty ocean air…
• You eat Portuguese sausage, eggs, and rice for breakfast…