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Tongan · Pacific Island

Lū pulu

Non-vegetarian

Tonga's Sunday favourite: corned beef, onion and coconut milk wrapped in taro leaves and baked until the leaves are meltingly soft and the beef rich and savoury.

Lū pulu is a Tongan main course, ready in about 1 hour 50 minutes and made with taro leaves, canned corned beef and coconut milk. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

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Prep
20 min
Cook
1 h 30 min
Total
1 h 50 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
311

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the coconut milk (opens in a new tab) with the onion (opens in a new tab), tomato (opens in a new tab) and salt.

    • 3 min

  2. Step 2

    Layer 4 taro leaves (opens in a new tab) in a bowl lined with a large square of foil. Add a sixth of the corned beef (opens in a new tab) and a sixth of the coconut mixture, fold the leaves over and wrap tightly in the foil. Repeat to make 6 parcels.

    • 15 min

  3. Step 3

    Pack the parcels into a baking dish (opens in a new tab) and bake at 180 °C for about 1½ hours until the leaves are completely tender.

    Food safety: Taro leaves must be cooked thoroughly to break down irritating calcium oxalate.

About this dish

Origin
Tonga · Well documentedLū dishes (taro-leaf parcels) are traditional; canned corned beef became a staple filling in the 20th century.Also popular in New Zealand, AustraliaMore food from Tonga
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Main courses
Cooking method
Oven-baked, Steamed
Taste
savoury, creamy, salty
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · High-protein · Calorie-conscious
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration · Budget-friendly
Cook more with
Taro leaves · Canned corned beef · Coconut milk · Onion
Techniques
Baking · Steaming

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

311 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 221 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 26%
  • Carbohydrate 11%
  • Fat 63%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy311 kcal141 kcal
Protein20.9 g9.5 g
Carbohydrate8.9 g4 g
Net carbohydrate——
Sugars——
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre——
Fat23 g10.4 g
Saturated fat16 g7.2 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol49 mg22 mg
Sodium617 mg280 mg
Salt equivalent1.5 g0.7 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
766 mg
Calcium
108 mg
Iron
5.2 mg
Magnesium
76 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
193 µg
Vitamin C
44 mg
Vitamin D
0.1 µg
Vitamin B12
0.9 µg
Folate (DFE)
119 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: tomato.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Serve with

  • With boiled or roasted taro, kūmara, yam or cassava.

Storage

  • Refrigerate up to 2 days.

Reheating

  • Reheat in the foil at 170 °C for 20 minutes.

Variations

  • Lū sipi (Tonga): Made with mutton flaps or lamb instead of corned beef.
  • Lū moa (Tonga): Made with chicken.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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