Kalua Pork with Cabbage

Have you ever tried Kalua pork with cabbage? No, this has nothing to do with the probably more famous Kahlau liquor. Kalua pork also known as Kalua Pig is Hawaii's answer to slow cooked pork. It's salty, flavorful and delicious. If you make a trip to the Hawaiian islands, Kalua pork is a must try why you are here.

Kālua is a Hawaiian cooking method using an “imu,”a Hawaiian underground oven. The word “kālua,” literally means “to cook in an underground oven.” Kalua Pig with Cabbage is a tradtional, Hawaiian dish, served often at a Luau or other Hawaiian party. A whole pig is prepared using Hawaiian sea salt and local ti leaves and is then set over hot coals and heated stones and buried. It is then left to cook, underground in the imu, until the meat is very tender. 

The flavors imparted from this traditional cooking method are unmatched and unique. Cabbage is added for extra flavor, color, and texture. This combination is one you can make at home in the oven to transport you to an outdoor Hawaiian Luau.

In 2013, I was supposed to go to Hong Kong with a friend who was living in Wuhan, China of all places. Her passport was taken by the government a few days before our trip, for absolutely no reason, and so we had to cancel. It as a huge disappointment but I wasn't going to go to Hong Kong alone.

But, as good Lord would have it, the day after we canceled, I got a call from our Pastor asking if I could go to Japan with 3 days notice. Conveniently, I was already ready to go!

I had never been to Asia and was very excited. We flew on a buddy pass, we lucky to get a seat up front, and arrived in Tokyo. What a life changing, amazing city. One of the reasons we were going to Japan was to host a Hawaiian Luau for a local church. The Japanese tourists love to visit Hawaii so it was so fun to be able to bring an authentic luau to them!

We had brought preplanned and sourced our ingredients so everything was ready when we got there, however the cooking still had to be done. As you can imagine, Japanese kitchens, at least the ones we were working in aren't huge, and we were cooking for a lot of people.

This was on of the most fun and most accomplished cooking endeavors of my life. We created steamers on the stove out of tin foil to steam Hawaiian lau lau and figured out to cook pounds and pounds of Kalua pork in the oven. It as a huge success.

Inspired by that trip, Hood and I hosted a Luau when we lived in Florida for our friends. This time, we cooked out pork in a Cuban Caja China. Have you ever heard of the Caja China? The Cubans use it to cook their Cuban Roast Pork. Translated to Chinese box, this raised box of wood and metal does an awesome job of creating the most tender and moist pork.

The secret ingredient to incredible Kalua Pork? The seasoning!

We've tried it all, we cooked with local Hawaiians, we catered for our Hawaiian friends. The hands down best seasoning for authentic Kalua pork is Kailua Seasoning Kiawe Smoke Salt.

Our Kiawe Smoke Salt is authentic Hawaiian Sea Salt from the island of Molokai. It is smoked with the local Kiawe wood which is Hawaii's version of mesquite. The smoke on the salt is perfect. Is it not overpowering, and added a delicious smoke flavor to whatever your are making, in this case, incredible Hawaiian Kalua Pork.

This recipe is so simple. Add you need is Kailua Seasoning Kiawe Smoke Salt, good pork shoulder, and a head of cabbage. If you don't have time or space to dig a hole to make an authentic Hawaiian imu, the Caja China will do just fine. No Caja China, no problem, the oven will do just fine!

Aloha!

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