Hawaiian cuisine and Kālua pork are synonymous. Do you know why it is an important part of Hawai‘i’s culture? Kālua pork is smoked, shredded meat sometimes mixed with cabbage; it is a staple at any lūʻau. This delicacy is actually one of the oldest and most traditional dishes served on a Hawaiian plate. Here’s some history behind the dish.
Existing in isolation, the Hawaiian islands possessed a few edible land animals and plants. Between 300 and 500 AD, the first people arrived to the islands and brought with them plants to cultivate and animals to domesticate. Pua‘a or pigs were valued. Historically, they were only eaten by chiefs and kings, never by commoners or women. It was a dish served at regal feasts. In the nineteenth century, King Kamehameha II changed this tradition by sharing the dish with women and creating what is known today as the lūʻau. Everyone was invited to try the kālua pig. Nowadays no lūʻau would be complete without serving kālua pig to its guests.
The word kālua translates as ‘to cook underground’. This method of cooking is still used by some today. The traditional method required digging a dirt pit called an imu and cooking the pig in it with koa wood, lava rocks, and banana leaves. Leaves are used to keep the steam and heat within the pit and to protect the food. Then dirt is thrown over the pit. Hours later, the smoked pig is removed from the imu, tender, juicy, and falling off the bone. A modern method is to rub the pork with sea salt, wrap it in ti leaves, and slow cook it in a standard oven. Now it is challenging to find kālua pork cooked in an imu, but nearly every Hawaiian restaurant has a variation of the recipe.
Here are a couple of our menu items featuring Kālua Pork:
Kalua Pork with Cabbage includes smoke-flavored, slowly-roasted shredded pork, combined with fresh cabbage.
Pork Lau Lau & Kalua Pork Combo is an old hawaiian tradition hefty pork chuck wrapped with taro leaf steamed to perfection paired with savory Kālua pork
At L&L Hawaiian BBQ in Plano, Texas, you can find Kālua Pork as the BBQ option in our Seafood & BBQ Combination. We also offer many other traditional Hawaiian Food, including Chicken Katsu, Musubi, burgers, Saimin, and our famous BBQ Mix Plate: A blend of three famous BBQ mixes, including beef, short ribs, and chicken. Each of our menu items is inspired by authentic Hawaiian recipes, influenced by many cultures. Voted “Best Plate Lunch in Hawaii,” we proudly serve many different traditional Hawaiian entrees that bring the flavors of the Islands to Texas. All of our entrees on our menu can be made in two sizes: Regular and Aloha. Our Regular is served with one scoop of rice and one scoop of mac salad, while our Aloha plate comes with extra meat served with 2 scoops of rice and 1 scoop of mac salad. You can also choose to substitute rice or mac salad with any side.
For authentic Hawaiian cuisine with generous portion sizes in the heart of Plano, TX, come dine with us at L&L Hawaiian Barbecue! Our hours are Sunday through Thursday, 11 am until 8:30 pm, and Friday through Saturday, 11 am until 9 pm. We look forward to seeing you there!
Try our delicious Hawaiian Food Today.