SUPPLIES
- Pork
- Aluminum foil
- Sweet potatoes
- Rice
- Pineapple
- Mangoes
- Grill
- Wooden skewers
- Coconut
- Macadamia nuts
- Drinks
Overview
When you think of luaus, do visions of hula dancers, palm trees and whole roasted pigs dance through your head? You can make your visions a reality by having a luau party. However, bright colors and leis alone don't make a luau. The food provided goes a long way in making a successful luau party. You can serve some or all traditional Hawaiian fare or go with some of your own ideas. Just make sure that the food picked follows a tropical theme.
Step 1
Cook the meat. Traditional luaus have a whole pig baked in a pit oven called an imu. Instead of digging up your backyard, try tightly wrapping pork, chicken or fish in either aluminum foil or cabbage leaves and baking it in the oven. A grill can also be used to cook the meat.
Step 2
Fix sweet potatoes. Wrap up some sweet potatoes and cook with the meat in the oven or on the grill. You can also cook and mash up the potatoes, put into a shallow dish with sliced bananas, crushed pineapple and brown sugar. Sprinkle macadamia nuts over the top and bake uncovered for about 30 minutes.
Step 3
Prepare the sides. Rice is often served at luaus, sometimes cooked with chicken or fish or just steamed by itself. Green salads are always a good side dish, as are baked beans, potato salad or macaroni salad. You could also set out a dish of shredded coconut and a bowl of macadamia nuts.
Step 4
Serve desserts. No luau party would be complete without huapia, a coconut pudding. You can also dice up some mangoes, pineapple, bananas and oranges for a tropical fruit salad. Another desert idea is to stick chunks of fruit on wooden skewers or toothpicks. Place them on the grill for a minute or two on each side for grilled fruit kabobs.
Step 5
Pour drinks. There are different drinks that could be served at your luau depending on who will be drinking them, kids or adults. Some choices for kids are kool-aid, fruit juice or fruit punch. For the adult some choices are Mai Tais, Blue Hawaiians or beer, all of which are alcoholic. Colas are another choice of beverage that both the young and old can enjoy.
