CSA Cooking Show: Super Pan Lau Lau in the Crockpot

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Pan lau lau is the pro hack when you don’t have the time or team to wrap individual lau lau. The idea is to make lau lau in a casserole dish and bake it in the oma (oven) until it achieves its signature tender, melty deliciousness. Our super pan laulau takes it one step further by pulling out the good old crockpot, which saves you from a hot kitchen, and of course, adding some amazing vegetables to really make this laulau super! 

In honor of the iconic supah laulau served at the E-n-G food truck in Hanapepe, we share with you a riff off of there recipe mixed with our own family recipes for a superbly delicious bundle of meat and veggies. 

Like many of the recipes we have shared in our cooking show, we encourage you to be creative and swap in ingredients that you love while trying new methods and ingredients you wouldn’t normally try! This is the beauty of seasonal eating and the advantage of CSA or ‘Community Supported Agriculture’. 

Super Pan Lau Lau in the Crockpot

Ingredients:

  • 20 luau (taro leaves)
  • 2.75 pounds Pork butt, cut into large chunks
  • 1  C. Carrots, thick cut
  • 1 C. Okinawan sweet potato, cut into large chunks
  • 1 C. Pumpkin or Kabocha, cut into large chunks
  • Hawaiian Salt, to taste
  • ½ cup water

Instructions:

  1. Add water to your crockpot.
  2. Remove the stems from your washed taro leaves. Peel the outer layer from your stems, chop into big pieces and set aside.
  3. Lay 10 luau (taro leaves) into your crockpot, top side facing up.
  4. Add your carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin, pork, and stems over the top of the luau.
  5. Season liberally with Hawaiian salt.
  6. Top with your remaining 10 luau leaves, this time face them down so they wrap around your fillings. Your crock pot will be very full but everything will shrink down choke (plenty)!
  7. Cook on low for 6 hours or cook on high for 4 hours.
  8. When done, the pork and veggies should be tender and juicy. The luau leaves will be full of flavor from the pork fat. Test the luau to make sure you don’t feel any itchiness in your throat! If you feel an itch, cook your lau lau longer.
  9. When done, dig in with a large spoon and a bowl of poi. So ‘ono!

Watch how it’s made on our YouTube channel HERE!

Snap a few pics of your dish and share with us on social media @malama_kauai or
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