Tongan Umu

[Abra]

Tongan friends are throwing an umu in honor of my father, who recently passed away. I'd like to make something typical/traditional to contribute, but it needs to be with ingredients that are availaboe in California. Any ideas?

[touaregsand]

I found this website.

I don't think you'll have much trouble finding ingredients for Tongan dishes in California.

Sounds like it will be a lovely get together for a sad passing.

[spaghetttti]

Abra, my sincere condolences. I've never heard of an umu, I hope you'll share this tribute with us.

This recipe for Tongan Pulao appears to be quite easy with accessible ingredients, which I'm sure will make for a truly fragrant rice dish. Something I'd like to try to make soon myself.

[touaregsand]

An umu is an underground oven, I think. I had this once with a whole pig (before I met my husband) and in Korea a whole roast pig cooked underground is fairly common wedding fare.

[helenjp]

Unless you're getting there reeeally early, you should probably take stuff to serve with the umu food, rather than dishes that need to go into the umu.

You know what, I bet your father's friends would be most tickled of all if you asked to come early and help out/learn to make the umu!

From numerous church umus and other minor things (I mean, three people from my NZ church couldn't possibly get together WITHOUT several tables full of food!), I would suggest desserts like fruit salads or poke-style dishes with banana or other starches baked in coconut cream, or raw fish salads, or maybe taro leaf dishes with coconut and fish or meat, if you have a source for the leaves and it's not going in the umu.

PolyHut recipe page

This site has some really good recipes:

Tongan food section of yachtie's site on Polynesian food

I don't know how traditional your family is but can you get good advice about gifts and wearing of mats etc? Nothing like being prepared...! (Pacific Islanders in New Zealand are pretty traditional, though where I come from there are mainly Samoans, Cook Islandes, and Niueans, and not so many Tongans). Sorry if I'm being intrusive.

[Abra]

Thanks, all! That Planet Tonga site must have some good recipes, but all I can seem to find is a lot of chat about recipes, as opposed to something I can really work with, but then a lot of it is in Tongan so I can't be sure, maybe it's Cordon Bleu in disguise! The other sites contain recipes for all of the dishes my friend has already told me people are bringing. I'm getting the idea that a) Tongan food is pretty simple and limited in variety, b) consists mainly (or at least umu food does) of food cooked with coconut milk wrapped in taro leaves.

I was so hoping, and really am still hoping, to find a recipe for something that no one else will be making. No secret recipes out there? A dessert would be cool.

My friend is going to dress me up in semi-traditional clothes, which she swears will be viewed as a sign of respect and not as a silly haole trying to "go native." Hmmm, I'm starting to get nervous about this part!

Helen, it's going to be held at my house, so I'll be there for the umu part itself. However, I've been assured that only the men will get to play with the umu, that Tongan women do the kitchen work and the guys get to play with the pit. And gifts? Please do tell before I embarrass myself!

Edited April 28, 2005 by Abra (log)

[helenjp]

Well...like most islands, Tonga is a long way from anywhere else. So people had to work with the ingredients around them, and nothing else, for a long time. And conversely, eastern Polynesia was about the most biologically isolated environment on earth until fairly recently (don't get me started...) so there are also lots of food-plants which are not available elsewhere. Consequently, expat Tongan cooking is going to be limited.

And by the way, you're not a haole if you're a whitie, you're a papalagi, or more casually, palagi (with that soft 'ng' sound on the 'g').

If you are wearing formal dress, and you are your father's eldest son, you might want to check if there is a mat of his that you should or could wear...

[Abra]

Wow, that must be a terrible picture if I look like anybody's son! Or like my father was Tongan! Nah, just a palangi woman trying to please her Tongan guests.

[helenjp]

Oops, sorry! Certainly makes YOUR job a lot easier, anyway.

The only island thing that I can think of that's become a rarity might be island-style cocoa, made by grating up solid hunks of gritty cocoa and heating it with milk and sugar....could be an acquired taste though!

[touaregsand]

Abra-

You might want to post in the Hawaii forum. There is a Tongan population in Hawaii.

[Abra]

Oh, good idea, I'll try there too - thanks!