Kalua

Kalua is a Hawaiian cooking method. The word "kalua" means "to cook in an underground oven" in Hawaiian. The oven is a hole in the ground called an imu. Kalua is most often used to cook pig. Kalua pig is a popular food at luaus.

Ancient Hawaiians used rocks from rivers to cook pig. They heated the rocks in the imu and the pig cooked with steam. They covered the pig with banana leaves, ti leaves, old mats and then dirt to keep the heat inside. This produced a unique taste that cannot be reproduced.

People today kalua pig in the same way that ancient Hawaiians did. Kalua pig is still served at luaus.

Kalua Media

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  Kālua puaʻa (kālua pig)

Other websites

• Hawaiian Luau: No-Imu Kalua Pig Archived 2005-08-31 at the Wayback Machine - Emeril Legasse's recipe for kalua pig.