Ingredients
Sweet potato
- 1 kgkaukau, or sweet potato, unpeeled
For boiling
- water
- salt, if wanted
For roasting
- a wood fire or hot ashes
Sometimes served with
- greens such as aibika
- coconut cream
- tinned fish
For a mumu
- banana leaves
- hot stones
Directions
- Keep them somewhere cool, dark and dry instead. Scrub the tubers well but do not peel them. Cut any very large ones in half so they cook evenly.
- Put them in a pot and cover them with cold water. Bring it to the boil and then lower the heat.
- Simmer them for twenty-five to thirty-five minutes depending on size. Test with a knife, which should slide in with no resistance.
- Drain them and let them steam dry for a minute.
- Peel the skin back with your fingers while they are hot. Bury the whole unpeeled tubers in the hot ash.
- Cover them completely and leave them for about forty minutes.
- Turn them once during that time with a stick. A mumu is an earth oven, dug as a pit and lined with hot stones.
Technique
- Cook it unpeeled, since the skin keeps the flesh from taking on water.
- Never refrigerate raw sweet potato, as cold storage turns the flesh hard.
- Roasting in ashes concentrates the sugars far more than boiling.
Substitutions
- Any orange or white sweet potato variety.
- An oven at 200C in place of a wood fire.
Variations
- Roasted in the embers of a fire.
- Cooked in a mumu earth oven for a feast.
- Boiled and mashed with coconut cream.
History
Sweet potato reached New Guinea only a few centuries ago but transformed the Highlands, feeding both denser populations and far larger pig herds.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kaukau?
Kaukau is a salad & side from Papua New Guinea: roasted or boiled sweet potato, the highlands’ daily staple. Sweet potato reached New Guinea only a few centuries ago but transformed the Highlands, feeding both denser populations and far larger pig herds.
How long does Kaukau take to make?
Kaukau takes 10 min of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Kaukau?
Yes, within limits. Any orange or white sweet potato variety. An oven at 200C in place of a wood fire.
What is the most important thing to get right in Kaukau?
Keep them somewhere cool, dark and dry instead. Scrub the tubers well but do not peel them. Cut any very large ones in half so they cook evenly.
