Experience Vanuatu - Vanuatu's national dish, the Lap Lap by Sumantri

Experience Vanuatu - Vanuatu's national dish, the Lap Lap by Sumantri

The food is wrapped in large banana leaves - and when a parcel is handed over it looks like a bright green present. Lap Lap is like a root vegetable cake. First, Ni Van grate up taro and pound it into a paste. They then smash open a coconut to get the milk. The taro paste is spread out on a big green banana leaf and sprinkled with a bit of the coconut milk. Then a layer of island cabbage is added. More coconut milk is poured in followed by another layer of the paste.Then the meat is added - such as beef or fish, and the whole thing is wrapped up in the big green leaves. Then it's put in the ground in a rock oven and cooked for about half an hour.
LAP-LAP
you can make your own (see recipe below). You can buy Lap Lap at the market most days, but please don eat the banana leaves. Lap Lap ingredients:
· Coconut milk
· Island cabbage (optional)
· Taro or manioc or cooking bananas
· For something different use a mix of any two above ingredients. Or add sweet potato (kumala) with your manioc.
· Banana leaves for wrapping
Take some manioc or taro and grate to a paste. In a separate dish grate some coconut then squeeze to get the coconut milk. Discard the pulp. Spread some banana leaves into a large square or circle then sprinkle with some coconut milk and add a layer of island cabbage. Pour some more coconut milk over the island cabbage, and then spread a thick layer of the manioc or taro paste. Spread it out and make it smooth. If you want to add meat put a layer of chicken or stew on top. Finally, top with more coconut milk. For the diet conscious use less coconut milk. Wrap in banana leaves, and put in your ground, rock oven, which you pre heated for one and a half hours with a wood fire before hand. Cook your Lap Lap for half an hour. For a slow cook to produce a dry flavour wrap in double banana leaves and leave over night.