Mumu (Earth Oven Pork and Vegetables)

Name: Mumu (Earth Oven Pork and Vegetables)
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 150 min
Total time: 190 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Papua New Guinea
Ingredients: 1.5 kg pork shoulder, cut into large chunks; 4 sweet potatoes (kaukau), peeled and halved; 2 cassava roots, peeled and cut into chunks; 1 pumpkin, cut into wedges; 2 bunches greens (aibika or spinach), whole leaves; 2 cups coconut milk; 4 banana leaves, for wrapping; Salt to taste

8 servings40 min prep150 min cookMedium Papua New Guinea

♡ Sign in to save Print / Save as PDFPro

The Story Behind It

The Tale of Mumu (Earth Oven Pork and Vegetables)

Mumu is an ancient Pacific Islander cooking method of steaming food in a pit lined with hot stones, practiced across Papua New Guinea for generations especially at feasts. The technique, known elsewhere in the Pacific as umu or hangi, likely predates European contact by centuries.

Ingredients

Scale:· 8 servings

1.5 kg pork shoulder, cut into large chunks
4 sweet potatoes (kaukau), peeled and halved
2 cassava roots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 pumpkin, cut into wedges
2 bunches greens (aibika or spinach), whole leaves
2 cups coconut milk
4 banana leaves, for wrapping
Salt to taste

Instructions

1Preheat the oven to 150C (300F), or prepare hot coals in a covered barbecue as a substitute for the traditional earth oven pit.
2Season the pork chunks generously with salt.
3Line a large roasting pan or Dutch oven with banana leaves, leaving enough overhang to fold over the top.
4Layer the sweet potato, cassava, and pumpkin on the bottom, then arrange the pork chunks on top.
5Pour the coconut milk evenly over everything, and tuck the whole greens leaves around the edges.
6Fold the banana leaves over to fully enclose the ingredients, then cover the pan tightly with a lid or heavy foil to trap steam.
7Cook low and slow for 2.5 hours, without lifting the lid, until the pork is very tender and the vegetables are cooked through.
8Carefully unwrap the banana leaves and serve everything together on a large platter, spooning the coconut cooking juices over the top.

Want Cook Mode, your own recipe photos, and unlimited calculators?

Get Home Cooking Pro

Comments

Loading comments…