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Laplap

Name: Laplap
Total time: 180 min
Yield: Serves 8
Cuisine: Vanuatu
Ingredients: 800g Taro root; 400ml Coconut cream; 400g Chicken Thigh; 1 bunch Spinach; 1 1/2 tsp Salt; To taste Banana Leaves

Main Dish

⏱ 180 min

👥 Serves 8

Difficulty ⭐⭐

Grated root vegetable dough topped with coconut cream and meat, wrapped in leaves, and stone-baked — Vanuatu's national dish.

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📖 The Story Behind This Dish

Laplap is Vanuatu's national dish: yam, taro, cassava, banana, or similar is grated into a paste, spread on banana leaves, topped with coconut cream and chicken, pork, or fish, wrapped in leaves, and steam-roasted in an earth oven of hot stones. It's essential at weddings, festivals, and church events.

🌆 Where it's eaten: On a village festival day in Vanuatu, big leaf parcels are dug from the earth oven and open to reveal root dough and meat glistening with coconut cream.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 8)

Taro root 800g
Coconut cream 400ml
Chicken Thigh 400g
Spinach 1 bunch
Salt 1 1/2 tsp
Banana Leaves To taste

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Peel and grate the taro and mix in a little salt.
Line an ovenproof dish with banana leaves and spread the dough 2cm thick.
Top with bite-size salted chicken and the greens and pour over half the coconut cream.
Wrap in the leaves, cover with foil, and bake at 180°C for 2 hours.
Pour over the remaining coconut cream and cut into portions.

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