If you saw the demonstration at Pasifika Festival – or if you’ve just always wanted to know how it’s done – here’s a step-by-step guide to preparing your own umu oven.
A Sāmoan umu is an above-ground oven of hot volcanic rocks. Traditionally, an umu was laid out three times a day to cook the family meals, a custom that continues in Sāmoa today, including in the many hotels and resorts that offer umu buffets once a week.
For many New Zealanders, last weekend’s Pasifika Festival may have been the first time they saw an umu being used. The Auckland festival has held demonstrations of hāngī, lovo and other cooking pit methods from islands such as Tuvalu in the past, but this was the first time it included a showcase of the cooking style used by Sāmoans for thousands of years.
If you saw the demonstration and were inspired to try creating an umu yourself, there are a few things you need to know. You’ll want to make sure you have enough firewood, coconut husks and coconut shells to create the fire and ensure the rocks are heated up well. Choosing the right rocks is important as you want to avoid the fire in the pit bursting – Sāmoans recommend rocks found in the river or along the coastline.
Here’s a how-to guide on preparing an umu, starting with the ingredients you’ll need.
Serves 2-5
- Coconut cream
- A large number of banana leaves
- Coconut fronds and/or half coconuts
- 2 fish fillets
- 2 octopus
- 2 pieces of preferred pork cuts
- 2 pieces of preferred chicken cuts
- 2 pieces of preferred lamb cuts
- 4 large taro
- Seasonal vegetables (optional)
Unlike the hāngī, where food is cooked inside a pit, the umu requires no digging. Place a medium square sheet of corrugated iron on the ground and start layering your firewood, coconut husks and halved coconut shells on top, creating an area that will be large enough to lay the prepared food.
Light a fire on the firewood and coconut pieces and let it spread evenly.
Lay your rocks on top of the fire carefully and let it heat up for half an hour to 40 minutes.
Grab a few banana leaves and, one at a time, hover each leaf on top of the fire to let it soften and become flexible enough to wrap the prepared food that’ll sit on top of the hot rocks.
After around 40 minutes, the flame will be out and the rocks will be glowing red, meaning the umu is ready to cook the food. Using tongs, carefully take out the firewood and coconut pieces, leaving the heated rocks behind, ready to cook the food.
Cut each taro in half and place on top of the rocks first, as taro requires a longer time to cook.
Once the taro pieces are in position, using tongs, move some of the rocks on top to cover the food items and then place a few banana leaves on top of those rocks, ready for the next row of food items, which will be the meat coated in coconut cream and then wrapped in banana leaves, forming little parcels.
The fish, which is prepared in exactly the same way as the meat, is placed on the top. Cook it for 10-15 minutes before taking it off the rocks, as it doesn’t need long to cook.
Grab more banana leaves to cover the entire umu to ensure no steam escapes. Traditionally, Sāmoans walk around the edges of the umu, stamping on the leaves to keep the steam in.
The umu is lifted after two hours by removing the layers of banana leaves and putting the cooked food in woven baskets ready to be served immediately.
The umu is full of natural smoky flavours, tropically juicy and delicious.
This is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.
