Palusami is young taro leaves baked in coconut cream: the dish that appears at every Samoan gathering worth the name. Traditionally cooked in an umu, wrapped in breadfruit leaf. This is how it is made, what it means, and how to cook it in a diaspora kitchen.
What is palusami?
Taro leaves (lu'au) are layered into a cup, filled with fresh coconut cream (pe'epe'e), seasoned with onion and salt, wrapped, and baked slowly until the leaves collapse into something between a custard and a green. It is rich, faintly smoky, and eaten with the fingers alongside taro or breadfruit.
The word is often confused with lu'au, which is the leaf itself and, in Hawai'i, the name of the feast.
Why does palusami matter?
It is the dish of the umu, and the umu is the work of the untitled men of the village, the aumaga. Palusami takes hours, cannot be rushed, and is made in quantity for other people. That is the whole ethic of tautua, service, expressed as food. Turning up to a family gathering with palusami says something a bought dish cannot.
How do you make palusami without an umu?
An oven works. Taro leaves are the difficulty. They must be young, and they must be cooked through, because raw taro leaf contains calcium oxalate and will burn the throat. Frozen taro leaves from a Pacific or Asian grocer are reliable. Silverbeet or spinach is the common substitute, and it is genuinely different, but it is what most diaspora kitchens use on a Tuesday.
Fresh coconut cream matters more than the leaf. Tinned works; the thick cream from the top of the tin works better.
Palusami, Sapa Sui, Oka, Kale Moa, Fai'ai Eleni and Keke Pua'a, the six that anchor a Samoan table, in one hardcover.
See the book →What is served with palusami?
Taro, breadfruit or green banana carry it. Oka (raw fish in coconut cream) cuts through it. Sapa sui sits beside it. At a bigger gathering it appears alongside roast pork from the umu, and there is never enough of it.
Common questions
What is palusami made of?
Young taro leaves baked in coconut cream with onion and salt, traditionally wrapped in breadfruit leaf and cooked in an umu.
Can you use spinach instead of taro leaves?
Yes, and many diaspora kitchens do. The texture and flavour differ, but it works. Silverbeet is the closest common substitute.
Why must taro leaves be fully cooked?
Raw taro leaf contains calcium oxalate crystals which irritate the mouth and throat. Long slow cooking breaks them down.
What is the difference between palusami and lu'au?
Lu'au is the taro leaf itself. Palusami is the finished dish. In Hawai'i, lu'au also refers to the feast.
