Lu-Pulu

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Tongan Food

Traditional Tongan food incudes meat, vegetables and fruits.

Common meats in Tonga are pork, chicken and fish. For a special celebration a pig is roasted over a fire on a spit. People have their own small farms and raise their own animals for food and grow their own vegetables.

Vegetables include tomato, carrot, spinach, cabbage, pumpkin, onion and talo (like potato). Usually vegetables are cooked by boiling, steaming or baking.

Ko e Me'atokoni 'a Tonga (Tongan Food)

'Oku kau e kakano'i manu, vesitapolo mo e fua'i 'akau he ngaahi me'atokoni fakafonua 'a Tonga.

'Oku lahi hono ngaue'aki 'i Tonga 'a e puaka, moa mo e ika. 'I he ngaahi katoanga mo e ngaahi 'aho fakamanatu, 'oku tunu e puaka 'o vilovilo he afi. 'Oku takitaha to pe 'e he kakai Tonga 'enau ngoue pea fafanga mo 'enau fanga monumanu ki he'enau me'atokonip pea mo 'enau vesitapolo.

'Oku kau e temata, kaloti, sipinisi, kapisi, 'ufi, hina, onioni, talo('oku hange ko e pateta) 'i he vesitapolo ma'u 'i Tonga. 'Oku hakavai, hakamao pe ta'o e vesitapolo pea toki ma'u.

'Oku fa'a ngaue'aki 'a e lau 'o e talo mo e siaine 'i he fei me'atokoni pea to e kofu'aki mo hiko ai e vesitapolo.

'Oku to pe 'e he kakai Tonga 'enau ngoue fua'i'akau hange ko e siaine, meleni, mango, moli, 'avoka, niu mo e to.

'I he taimi ni'ihi 'oku fai e 'umu ke ta'o ai e me'atokoni. 'Oku ta'o e 'umu 'i ha luo he kelekele.

Umu

Often leaves like taro or banana are used in cooking to wrap the vegetables and for serving.

Tongan people grow their own fruit like banana, watermelon, mango, oranges, avocado, coconuts and sugar cane.

In Tonga they sometimes use an umu for cooking. An umu is an underground oven.

To make an umu :

Step 1 : Dig a big hole in the ground.

Step 2 : Make a fire with wood in the hole, place in rocks.

Step 3 : Remove ashes when rocks are really hot.

Step 4 : Place food (meat and vegetables) in the hole.

Step 5 : Cover with banana leaves then seal over with matting and leave for several hours.

Lu Pulu

Ingredients:

* one small can of corned beef.
* ten or more spinach or talo leaves.
* one small bottle of thickened cream.
* chopped onions.
* aluminium foil.

Method:

Step 1: Cut the foil and spread out in a square shape.

Step 2 : Arrange the spinach leaves onto the foil. Make sure that there are no gaps.

Step 3 : Slice the corned beef and lay it on the leaves.

Step 4 : Put the onions on the meat.

Step 5 : Spread the thickened cream all over the corned beef.

Step 6 : Fold it up by the leaves then fold over the foil, cook in an oven.

Serving:

Serve with steamed taro, mixed sliced vegetables, salt and a glass of watermelon drink.