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1
Season the Meat
15 Mins
Room temperature
Mix the crushed garlic, grated ginger and most of the salt into a paste. Rub it all over the pork chunks and chicken thighs, working it into every crevice. Set aside while you prepare the vegetables so the seasoning has time to sink in.
Season generously — the roots and greens are unseasoned and will borrow flavour from the meat as they steam together.
Done when: Meat is evenly coated with the paste.
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2
Prepare the Roots, Banana and Greens
20 Mins
Room temperature
Peel the taro (wear gloves if taro makes your hands itch), sweet potatoes and green cooking bananas, and cut them into large chunks about 6 cm across. Strip the kale from its stems, wash it well, and chop roughly. Slice the onion into thick rings.
Keep the taro chunks large and peel them thickly — the skin is bitter and the flesh just under it can irritate skin.
Done when: All roots are in even, fist-sized chunks; greens are washed and chopped.
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3
Line the Pot and Layer Everything
10 Mins
Room temperature
Line a large Dutch oven or deep roasting pan with the softened banana leaves, letting them overhang the edges. Lay down half the kale, then the pork and chicken in a single layer, then the taro, sweet potatoes, cooking banana and onion rings. Finish with the rest of the kale on top.
Meat at the bottom, roots in the middle, greens on top — the juices drip down through the roots as they cook, and the greens steam gently without burning.
Done when: The pot is full but not packed tight; leaves overhang the rim.
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4
Pour Over the Coconut Milk and Seal
5 Mins
Room temperature
Shake the coconut milk until smooth and pour it evenly over the layers — this is the step that makes the dish a mumu: the coconut milk bastes everything as it steams and turns the pan juices rich and fragrant. Fold the overhanging banana leaves over the top, then seal the pot tightly with a double layer of foil under the lid so no steam escapes.
Do not add water. The coconut milk and the juices from the meat and roots are all the liquid the mumu needs.
Done when: Coconut milk is evenly distributed; the parcel is sealed tight with no gaps.
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5
Slow-Roast Until Tender
3 Hours • Slow Roast
160°C (320°F)
Place the sealed pot in the oven at 160°C (320°F) and roast for 3 hours without opening it — every peek lets out the steam that does the cooking. Traditionally the banana-leaf parcels go onto white-hot stones in a pit dug in the ground, covered with more leaves and earth, and cook the same way for 2–3 hours. After 3 hours, open the parcel: the pork should shred with a fork, the chicken should fall from the bone, and the taro and sweet potato should be soft right through.
Resist lifting the lid before 3 hours. If the roots are still firm at the check, reseal and give it another 30 minutes.
Done when: Pork shreds easily; chicken reaches 74°C (165°F) at the thickest part; taro and sweet potato are soft through to the centre.
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6
Rest and Serve
10 Mins
Resting, off the heat
Let the pot rest, still sealed, for 10 minutes so the juices settle. Open the leaves at the table, discard the banana leaves, and serve the meat, roots and greens in wide bowls with the coconut cooking juices spooned over the top.
Serve it family-style, straight from the pot — a mumu is a feast, and the uncovering is half the celebration.
Done when: Juices have settled; the parcels are opened and the food is steaming hot.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve the mumu family-style from the pot, with steamed rice and lime wedges on the side. Squeeze lime over your plate just before eating — the sharp citrus cuts through the rich coconut juices.
Papua New Guinea
30m
France
Vietnam