Mainland Lau Lau with Pork

I may get my mug on a Hawai'i wanted poster for this bastardized version of an island native recipe favorite. And if I end up in the slammer, I hope they serve Lau Lau for jailhouse meals!

I live in Los Angeles and could probably find Taro leaves somewhere. But, I want to make sure anyone on the Mainland can enjoy my cheap$kate version of Lau Lau - which is simply seasoned hunks of pork wrapped in Taro leaves and slow cooked to delicious tenderness.

You can read all about the origins of Lau Lau here. It's similar to Kalua Pig, which I wrote a recipe of a couple weeks ago, just click here to see it. Kalua Pig is wrapped in banana leaves, while Lau Lau is wrapped in Taro leaves and steamed/baked underground; think Southern BBQ-style, it's Low 'n Slow.

And to take the comparison further, instead of using hard-to-find Taro leaf, I substitute with Southern Greens! Yep, and collard greens even look like Taro leaf. Both have large ribs with a deep green hue. Even the taste is similar. When cooked you could put them side-by-side and not be able to tell the difference, unless you are a Hawaiian cook. Just compare my steamed Collard Green Lau Lau with real Taro Leaf Lau Lau.

Click on any photo to see larger.

The main difference between Taro Leaf and Collard greens is the texture. Collard greens are a little more firm after cooking. I'm sure you could tell the difference if you tasted each cooked leaf at the same sitting, but my version of Southern-style Mainland Lau Lau is a tasty alternative.

Greens are cheap, I get mine from my local Mexican grocery store for less than a dollar per bundle. Each bundle holds about 5-8 leaves. You could stretch out my recipe (that serves 4) and get away with one bundle, but 2 bundles would give you plenty of greens to go with the pork.

For this recipe I used collard and turnip greens. While collard looks similar to taro leaf, turnip greens get more tender like cooked taro leaf. It's okay to mix and match your favorite leafy greens.

You can use any greens you find on sale at your own grocery or farmers market, including: collard, turnip, mustard, Swiss chard, kale and even spinach.You just need enough to wrap pork into bundles for steaming.

Pork is the main protein. On the Island, they add a little firm fish with the pork. I'm keeping it simple and cheap, by leaving out the fish. For my recipe I used a little over 3 pounds of meaty country-style pork ribs for around 99 cents per pound. I got 4 big ribs.They are ready to go, just trim of any excess fat, but leave some on as it's extra flavor.

Country-style ribs hold much more meat than your typical BBQ rib. And each rib is large enough for a single serving. You could go even cheaper by buying a whole pork shoulder. Just remove the meat from the bone and skin. It's okay to leave the meat in large hunks, for wrapping in greens.

It takes 3 to 4 hours for Lau Lau to steam tender. But it is so simple to make, with few ingredients. Just season the pork with salt, rub on some liquid smoke (optional) and wrap it up with a couple layers of leaves. Finally loosely wrap it with a sheet of aluminum foil.

Lau Lau is a surprise package - lay it out and watch the smile appear on your dinner guests as they unpeel it. My cheap$kate Mainland Lau Lau si going right into my recipe favorites. And you don't need to spring for a plane ticket to Hawai'i to taste my local SoCal Lau Lau.

Ingredients (about 4-5 servings)

• 3-4 pounds pork - I used 4 meaty country style pork ribs. Okay to use any pork pieces. Cheapest to use pork shoulder (trim off the meat from bone.)
• 2 bundles of edible greens - Enough to wrap pork 2 to 3 times. For this recipe I used collard and mustard greens. Normally taro leaves are used. If you can find them, then use. Okay to use kale or any favorite edible greens like: collard, mustard, Swiss chard, turnip, kale and even spinach.
• Salt to taste - Get out the Hawaiian salt, if you have any.
• 2 tablespoons Liquid Smoke - optional. Will taste delish, it's all about the leafy wrapping.
• Aluminum foil - about 4 sheets to wrap Lau Lau.
• Water for steaming Lau Lau.

Directions
Prepare pork. If you are using country style ribs then all you need to do is trim of excess fat. Okay to leave some fat, as it's extra flavor. For pork stew meat that's already sliced, you'll just pile it on the leaves.

Country Style Pork Ribs

For cheap pork shoulder you need to trim off the meat. It has a thick layer of skin you can discard. It's okay if the meat pieces are left large. They will cook until fall-apart tender.

Rub Liquid Smoke onto pork. Allow meat to absorb Liquid Smoke and rub again to use it all up. This is optional. The greens will flavor the meat too. Season meat with salt to taste.

Wash and set out edible greens. Trim off any yellowing stems or tough ends.

Wrap meat 2 to 3 times. The leafy packages should be big enough for a single serving - about the size of a burrito, or an extra large tamale. Finally, wrap each bundle with foil to keep it from falling apart. Some greens may get too mushy, so foil is a simple way to keep it all together. You can loosely wrap pork and greens with foil. It's okay to let some steam into bundles.

Wrapping Collard Greens

Wrapping Turnip Greens

 What you want is enough greens to eat with the pork. So you can wrap the pork with as may leaves as you like. Add leaf pieces too, just pile it on.

You can even use spinach leaves. But make sure to wrap spinach packages in foil, as spinach will get too mushy and may fall off pork.

Add wrapped pork bundles to a steamer pot. Add enough water to just reach the foil-wrapped packages. Cover the pot. Bring water to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook pork until tender, about 3-4 hours. Check every hour to make sure water doesn't evaporate - add water as needed.

Lau Lau may cook quicker or take even longer; it all depends how thick the pork pieces are. You can cook Lau Lau as long as it takes (steam will keep it moist,) so just cook it until very tender. You can keep it warm, until ready to serve, in the steamer pot, too.

If you do not have a steamer pot, just get your largest pot and add a ceramic (or metal) bowl, upside down, on bottom of pot. Stack on the foil wrapped Lau Lau. Add enough water to just cover the ceramic bowl. You can use a small steamer rack on the bottom of the pot, too. Again check water level every hour. Add water as needed. Water can come in contact with foil wrapped Lau Lau.

When done, open one package to make sure meat is fall-apart tender. If not, rewrap and keep steaming in half hour to hour increments. It's hard to over-cook this recipe, so cooking it too long is okay.

Set out packages and allow to cool down for a few minutes so you can remove foil and serve. For a Lau Lau Plate, I like to have Macaroni Salad and Sticky Rice as side dishes. My recipes for those are a click away here. If you serve Lau Lau with above sides, then half a bundle per person may be enough -- so that makes even more servings of Lau Lau!

Also, reserve a cup or so of simmering water that's now flavored with pork and greens (called pot liquor.) You can drizzle some onto cooked meat to moisten it more.

Lau Lau leftovers freeze fine. Heat it up in the microwave. Remove foil and drizzle on some pot liquor before heating.

Hindsight
I used Liquid Smoke, but you can leave it out - the edible leaves will flavor the pork enough.

I steamed the Lau Lau, but if you have a pressure cooker, then use that. It will cook in about 45 minutes to an hour. For a crock pot it will take all day at low temperature.

You can't over-steam Lau Lau. It depends how large the pork pieces are to how long you cook the pork. My country style ribs took about 4 hours to tenderize. In Hawai'i I got some  Lau Lau from a food truck. I'm sure the Lau Lau was steaming all day and it tasted fine. Click here to see my Lau Lau truck video.

I used Southern-style turnip and collard greens, but you can use any favorite greens, like: collard, mustard, Swiss chard, turnip, kale, or even spinach. Wrap the pork with enough greens so you get a nice veggie serving. It's okay to mix and match greens.

I noticed collard greens look like taro leaves, but are more firm (when cooked) than taro leaves. Turnip greens are tender like taro leaves.

To see other Hawaii Travelogue blog posts with video, photos, text & GIFs, just click on any link below:
Visit to O'ahu, Hawai'i - intro 
Windward Shore & Keneke Grill

The Road to Waikiki & a Lau Lau Truck 
Waikiki Beach & The Rainbow Drive-In
Waikiki & The Musubi Cafe
Breakfast in Honolulu
7-Eleven Span Musubi

Hawaiian Recipes:
Macaroni Salad & Sticky Rice
Kalua Pig & Cabbage
Loco Moco (eggs, hamburger, gravy & rice)
Teriyaki Spam Musubi

Collard Greens With Molasses

Bitter greens are sweet when The Chef takes over in the kitchen. Slow cooked until tender with a rich pot liquor flavored with beer, vinegar, bacon, onion, garlic and molasses, it's a great side dish loaded with good stuff.

I usually get my cooked greens from Chef Marilyn at Soul Food Express down the street on Crenshaw Blvd., but sometimes I want to go extra cheap and load up my plate. My local Latin market sells collard and mustard greens in 99 cent bundles and two will make enough for 4 servings!

My recipe is simple and adaptable, but you do have to slow-cook them for an hour and a half, and the aroma may drive you crazy with anticipation. With greens, the longer you cook them the better.

You can cook collard and mustard greens together.

The addition of molasses makes for a complex flavor profile -- you can substitute maple syrup if that's what you have on hand. (A good pairing is with my Mom's Jambalaya - click here for her recipe video.)

This recipe calls for sauteed bacon, but you can keep it vegetarian and leave it out - add half a cup of vegetable broth instead.

The Chef likes to cook with beer, and you can use any kind -- dark, malt liquor or light. So get a 24 ouncer from your corner liquor store; get cooking, and save half for yourself!

Ingredients (4 servings)
2 bundles of greens, including collard and/or mustard
12 oz. can of beer
3 slices of bacon - optional
1 whole onion - chopped
1 tbsp. chopped garlic - fresh or jar
1 tbsp. of vinegar
1 tbsp. of molasses or maple syrup
Hot sauce - about 1/2 tsp. or to your tolerance - optional
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
 Prepare greens by washing, slicing off tough ends, and chopping leaves into wide strips.

In a large pot saute and brown bacon over medium heat, then add chopped onion. Cook until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic to sauteed onion and cook for a minute.

Pour in beer, vinegar and molasses; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and press down greens into pot and cover.

 Cook for 15 minutes. Greens will wilt and shrink the way spinach does. Mix well so greens keep cooking down.

Once well mixed, cook for an hour; add hot sauce a little at a time and taste to reach desired spicy heat. Continue cooking for at least another half hour until desired tenderness of greens are reached.

Check greens and add water or stock as liquid cooks out - a half cup at a time. Simplest to serve with red beans, rice and a hot link, or Mom's Jambalaya!

Deal of the Day - Greens Smoothie Kit

My latest Deal of the Day provided breakfast and lunch. Frozen fruit and greens, sweet and earthy flavors, were blended with soy milk, providing a nutritious start to my day. This frozen deli case packaged Greens Smoothie Kit from Applause Food is a deliciously cheap$kate find - you just need to add fruit juice, milk, or a substitute like almond or soy milk.

I'm a late arrival for veggies in smoothies, even after living in health food conscious Los Angeles for decades now. I sometimes make fruit smoothies for breakfast - but next time I'll add a few sprigs of fresh spinach.

As the package name indicates, the ingredients lean towards the greens scale, mainly kale, spinach and celery, with a few chunks of pineapple and sliced apple. It's more liquefied salad or cold soup than fruit drink. After blended with soy milk, the first taste was jolting, but I quickly got into the veggie/fruit mix of flavors.

The greens taste like they were steamed tender, so there is a slight mushy bite to veggie stems pieces. Keep on blending to completely break it down into a smooth gazpacho.

 It is an earthy taste with all the leafy greens. By the time I got to the bottom of the drinking glass, I was a fan of this frozen Greens Smoothie Kit. You can read all about the makers, Applause Foods, by clicking here.

  Click on any photo to see larger.

Applause Foods carry other smoothie kits that feature fruit, and immune, protein, plus super food blends. I suspect this veggie blend was the slowest to move, so it ended up at my local 99c only Store and I'm happy it did.

Greens Smoothie ingredients with soy milk.

The ingredients list is all natural fruit and veggies. And you can get 2 to 3 servings from this 8 ounce package, depending how much liquid you add - so you definitely get your money worth, as long as you have a 99c only Store nearby that stocks it. Hey, I would even put in another dollar or so for this Deal of the Day if I found it in any regular grocery store frozen deli case.

As I this package mentions "What you see is what you get", this frozen smoothie mix is very green.

Feel free to sweeten it up with any fresh fruit you have on hand, like grapes, banana, blueberries or strawberries. I would add some yogurt next time too. This package had large slices of mild flavored apple, with very little tart and sweet pineapple. I would have reversed it, adding more pineapple, as it might have contrasted deliciously with green leafy flavors.

But for a midday veggie smoothie or pick-me-up drink, just blend it with veggie or fruit juice, soy or almond milk.

So how does the latest Deal of the Day find, Greens Smoothie Kit from Applause Food, rate on my Cheap$kate Dining Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best? Well it ranks high with a healthy 7 ! 

I could learn to start my day with a veggie smoothie, as long as these kits are kept stocked at my local dollar stores.

Pasta with Kale

I'm late to the kale craze. My go-to greens for a blast of nutrition are spinach and Southern-style greens. Spinach is quick to tenderize, while collard greens take an hour of slow cooking to get all the bitterness out. Kale looks like mustard greens, but cooks tender quicker.

My favorite spinach recipe is for Saag Paneer, and for collard green, it's, of course, Soul Food Greens with molasses and bacon. Both are so good - just click on the names to get my recipes.

My Pasta with Kale is a light entree, but flavorful. It's simple and quick to make. You just saute the chopped kale in a little olive oil, then add some garlic and pasta water; add the cooked pasta and top with some parmesan cheese - that's it.

Kale shrinks when cooked, but not as much as spinach does. I find the stems are tough, so I removed the largest parts of them. 

Kale can be eaten raw and stays somewhat firm when sauteed for about 5 minutes. I like the texture and taste. It seems to have a light broccoli flavor.

I don't know how much kale cost a couple years ago, but I find it at regular markets priced as cheap as lettuce and at my local Latin market it's even cheaper.

This is a light pasta meal, but filling. I think you will like my Pasta with Kale, especially since it's so nutritious.

Ingredients (2 servings)

• 1 bunch of kale - clean and remove tough stems. Chop into 2 inch segments.
• 2/3 to 1 whole package of spaghetti - or any favorite pasta. Cooked according to directions. I used regular spaghetti, but you can use gluten free or whole wheat pasta.
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic - fresh or from a jar.
• 1 tablespoon olive oil - or any favorite tasting oil.
• Water for boiling pasta - save a quarter cup of pasta water to add to finish recipe.
• Parmesan cheese - to top finished dish.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Extra ingredients - red pepper flakes, a little white wine or lemon juice. Also a pat of butter, or drizzle on extra tablespoon of olive oil when finished.

Directions
Start the pasta water boiling. Add a tablespoon of salt. When pasta water is boiling then add it and follow package directions. I always cut off a minute of cooking time.

Clean the kale and remove the largest parts of the stems. Roughly chop the kale into about 2 inch segments. Doesn't have to be perfectly chopped. The kale will shrink a little when cooked.

Add tablespoon of oil to a medium heated pan large enough to cook the kale. Add the kale and stir while it cooks and softens. Kale will reduce in size and be tender in about 5 minutes.

When kale is soft move it to one side and add the garlic. Let it cook for 30 seconds while stirring. Don't let it burn though. Mix the garlic into the cooked kale.

Now time to bring it all together. Pasta should be done. Drain it but save some of the pasta water.

Add 1/4 cup of pasta water to kale. Mix well and add the cooked pasta. You can add the parmesan cheese now, or add it when the Pasta with Kale is served.

Also add any extra ingredients listed above: like a splash of white wine or lemon juice.