Samoan parcels of young taro leaves baked in salted coconut cream until silky and rich — a cornerstone of the umu earth-oven feast.
Palusami is one of the defining dishes of Samoa and across much of Polynesia (where it goes by names like luau in Hawai‘i and rourou in Fiji). Young taro leaves are stacked into small bundles, doused with thick coconut cream seasoned only with salt and sometimes onion, wrapped in outer taro or banana leaves, and slow-baked in the umu — the traditional stone-lined earth oven — until the leaves collapse into a velvety, spinach-like mass and the coconut cream splits into a fragrant oily sauce that soaks every bite. The dish is humble in ingredients but absolutely central to Sunday to‘ona‘i, the family lunch that follows church. Done right, it is buttery, intensely savory, and slightly sweet from the coconut, with no harsh oxalate sting from the leaves — a result of long, patient cooking.
Serves 6
If using true taro leaves, strip the thick central rib from each leaf — this is where the most calcium-oxalate sits and what causes throat-itch if undercooked. Wash thoroughly and pat dry. If substituting spinach + collard, no rib removal needed.
Always wear gloves when handling raw taro leaves; their sap can irritate skin.
In a bowl, whisk the coconut cream and coconut milk with the salt and diced onion. Stir in the corned beef if using.
Lay 3 outer leaves (or a large square of banana leaf or foil) shiny-side down, overlapping. Stack 6–8 prepared taro leaves in the center, cupping into a shallow bowl shape. Spoon a generous 80 ml of the coconut mixture into the center.
Fold the inner leaves over the filling like a parcel, then bring the outer leaves up and over the top to seal, tying with kitchen string. Repeat to make 6 parcels total.
Place parcels seam-side down in a deep baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 160°C / 320°F for 75–90 minutes. The leaves must collapse fully and the cream must split into a golden oil layer.
Undercooked palusami is sharp and itchy in the throat — when in doubt, bake longer, not shorter.
Let parcels rest 10 minutes. Open at the table — each diner spoons leaves and the pooled coconut oil over hot rice or boiled taro/breadfruit.
Use thick first-press canned coconut cream (Aroy-D or Kara brand) — light or low-fat versions never split into the signature golden oil.
Never undercook taro leaves; even a slight crunch means raw oxalate crystals. Bake until the leaves look fully collapsed and dark.
Banana leaves give a subtle smokiness you cannot get from foil. If you find them frozen, thaw and pass briefly over a gas flame to soften before wrapping.
Pisupo palusami: the canned corned-beef version, almost universal in modern Samoan home cooking since the 1950s.
Vegan palusami: skip the corned beef and add a teaspoon of mushroom seasoning to the cream for depth.
Fijian rourou: similar dish, often with a little curry powder and chopped chili added to the cream.
Refrigerate cooked parcels up to 3 days. Reheat in a covered dish at 160°C for 20 minutes; do not microwave, it splits the coconut sauce unpleasantly.
Palusami predates European contact in Samoa and is documented in 19th-century missionary accounts as a Sunday and feast dish baked in the umu earth oven. The corned-beef (pisupo) version became dominant in the mid-20th century when imported tinned beef arrived through New Zealand trade and integrated into Pacific cuisine.
Frozen taro leaves are sold in Pacific, Filipino, and Caribbean grocers and are excellent for palusami — they're already partly broken down. Fresh young leaves appear seasonally at Polynesian markets.
Yes — a mix of mature spinach and collard greens gets close. Use roughly 60 percent spinach to 40 percent collard, and cut the bake time to 50 minutes since these leaves are far more tender.
Itch in the throat or mouth means the taro leaves weren't cooked long enough to break down the calcium-oxalate crystals. Always bake at least 75 minutes; never serve palusami with leaves that still look bright green and intact.
Absolutely — a 160°C home oven is the standard substitute and gives excellent results. The umu adds smokiness but isn't required for the texture.
Per serving (220g) · 6 servings total
Ask our AI cooking assistant anything about this recipe — substitutions, techniques, scaling.
Chat with AI Chef →Join the conversation
Sign in to leave a comment and save your favourite recipes