Lau Lau: It Tastes Like Fun

Whether you are local-grown or have flown here, many natives and transplants enjoy that ti-leaf wrapped food, the lau lau.

On Sunday from 9 a.m., learn how to make this cultural staple with Kumu Lani Isaacs. Lau lau is seriously good green.

It is a moisture-rich efficiently wrapped mass of tasty taro leaves surrounding cubes of beef, pork, or chicken with a little piece of salted butterfish sometimes thrown in.

Kumu Isaacs will take participants through the entire lau lau making process from ti leaf and lu’`u leaf washing, to filling each little bundle of carefully wrapped leaves with goodies for steaming.

Taro leaf, photo by Avenue. Courtesy image of Wikimedia Commons.

While nearly 300 lau lau are cooking, attendees can take a break, enjoy Kamuela town or get in some beach time.

Bring your libation of choice and eat up as fresh lau lau emerges at the end of the day.

Take some home for the family and leave the rest for the Waipio Campout Feast and fundraiser on Aug. 18.

Event sponsor Slow Food Hawai`i supports local growers, sustainable agriculture and responsible stewardship of the land. Slow Food Hawai`i is a chapter of Slow Food USA.

Cost is $40 for slow food members and $45 for non-members. Sign up to join this cultural cooking class at www.slowfoodhawaii.org, or call 936-6511 for more information.

The event takes place at Kumu Lani Isaacs home in Waimea.