Squid Lūʻau (Squid lūʻau)

Overview

Squid lūʻau is a creamy Hawaiian stew-soup of taro leaves cooked in coconut milk with squid or octopus. The young leaves of the taro plant, called lūʻau, must be cooked for a long time to remove the oxalate crystals that make them scratchy to eat, so they are simmered until very soft and dark green. They are then combined with rich coconut milk, a little onion, salt and sometimes butter or sugar, and pieces of tender boiled squid or octopus are folded in. The result is thick, silky and gently sweet, with a deep green colour. It is served at almost every Hawaiian lūʻau feast.

History

The word lūʻau originally meant the taro leaf, and the famous Hawaiian feast took its name from this dish because it was always served. Taro has been the central crop of Native Hawaiian life for centuries. Squid lūʻau, often actually made with octopus, called heʻe, is still a standard part of plate lunches and family celebrations across Hawaii.

Main ingredients

Taro leaves (lūʻau), squid or octopus, coconut milk, onion, salt, butter. The soup is built on coconut milk and is usually served hot. Diet: pescatarian; usually gluten-free.

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Recipe

4Serves

1h 50m20 prep · 90 cook

~340kcal / serving

MediumDifficulty

Method

1. 1
   60 min

   Simmer the taro leaves in water for 60 minutes, changing the water once, until very soft, then drain.

2. 2

   Boil the squid or octopus until tender, then cut into pieces.

3. 3
   15 min

   Soften the onion in the butter, add the leaves and coconut milk and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. 4

   Stir in the squid, season and serve warm.

5. ✓

   Serve. About 1h 50m from start to bowl.

Sources

• Squid lūʻau (Wikipedia)

Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.