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 use kalua to cook pig in the same way that ancient Hawaiians did.  Kalua pig is still served at luaus.

 Related pages 

 Ancient Hawaii
 Cooking

 Other websites 
Hawaiian Luau: No-Imu Kalua Pig  - Emeril Legasse's recipe for kalua pig.

Category:Culture of Hawaii
Category:Cooking methods