Hawaiian Luau Party Planner

If you are throwing a party, try going with a Hawaii theme and throw your own luau. A luau is basically a Hawaiian feast to celebrate special occasions like weddings, birthday parties, holidays, etc. Like a Texas barbeque, luaus are usually held outdoors, but if that's not feasible where you live, you can hold it indoors. The main thing is for everyone to enjoy the food, the company, and the atmosphere. Throwing a Hawaiian party can be easy and fun if you just follow a few simple steps.

The three things to keep in mind when throwing your Hawaiian luau are:

1) attire
2) atmosphere
3) food

If you plan your party with those things in mind, you should be in good shape. Obviously, the easiest way to add color to your party is to have everyone wear a Hawaiian shirt or dress. You can really take it to the next level by adding a few decorations such as grass table skirts, colorful napkins, props, and wall decor. Ultimately, if you want your party to feel like a luau, you must have the food. If you do even a half reasonable job at all 3 areas, you're party will be talked about for months to come!

ALOHA WEAR REQUIRED

Hawaiian Shirts and Dresses
Nothing will give your luau more flare than to have all your guests wear their favorite Hawaiian shirt or dress. As a rule of thumb, the bolder and louder the print, the more colorful your party will be.

Lei Your Guests
Give leis (even cheap ones) to guests at your party is a nice fun touch. In Hawaii, leis are usually given to guests of honor. If everyone is wearing a lei, then the guests of honor should have better leis. But for the sake of a fun party, it doesn't really matter.

Flirty Flowers
If you have flowers, especially fresh tropical flowers, have you guests wear them behind their ear. According to tradition, single women should wear the flower behind their right ear. If a woman is taken, she should wear it behind the left wear.

CREATING THE LUAU ATMOSPHERE

If you are able to hold your party outside, give it a try. Being outdoors can give your party a special atmosphere that is hard to duplicate indoors. But even if you have it indoors, you can still create a very festive and tropical vibe with a few simple steps.

Hawaiian Music
Give your party some luau sounds with Hawaiian music. Traditional, contemporary, and novelty Hawaiian music are all available online at iTunes, Amazon.com, or a number of other online music stores. If you can't have live Hawaiian music, then MP3s or CDs are the next best thing.

Lots of Props
Simple decorations go a long way in creating a tropical mood. Decorate your tables with real or fake flowers, coconut candles, and even a pineapple centerpiece. Tiki torches are another eye catching prop, especially if you light them at night for outdoor parties. Your local party store is sure to have a ton of tropical decorations and props.

Tropical Cups, Plates & Napkins
Another easy way to add tropical flare to your party is to use plates, cups, and napkins with tropical designs. If you don't have access to tropical paper goods, then go with an assortment of bright solid color items.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: FOOD!

Kalua Pig - the Ultimate Luau Dish
From our experience, if there is one dish that you must make for your luau, it is Kalua Pig. If you make only one Hawaiian dish, this should be it.

Tropical Drinks
If Kalua Pig is the key food, then tropical drinks are the key beverage. All you need is a little mai tai mix from your neighborhood supermarket, ice, rum, and a blender. Add color swirls with punch syrup. Top it off with a drink umbrella and a slice of pineapple. If you're really lazy, you can just make coconut rum & Coke, like you probably did in college.

Poi - a Taste of Hawaii
Perhaps the food that is most associated with Hawaii is poi. Poi will probably be a bit polarizing since some people love it while others hate it. People who don't like it often site the texture as what disagrees with them. People in Hawaii often eat it with other dishes such as kalua pig or lomi lomi salmon. If you don't have access to fresh poi, it can usually be ordered in power form over the internet. Just add water.

Lomi Lomi Salmom
"Lomi" literally means to mash. Lomi lomi salmon consists of salted salmon, raw tomatoes, onions, and green onions all mashed together by hand. But if you are not hardcore, you can use a mixing spoon or whatever you have at your disposal. Many people like to add this to their poi to give it a little more flavor.

Haupia
Haupia is a coconut pudding that is made with coconut milk, sugar, and starch. If you are easily intimidated by even the simplest recipes, then we suggest going with powdered haupia mix that you can order over the internet. It's easier than making brownies.

Lau lau
This is one of the most popular, intricate, and difficult-to-make luau foods. Lua lau is a combination of beef, pork, fish, and taro chunks wrapped in ti leaves and banana leaves, then steamed until the ti leaves become super soft. Of all the items commonly eaten at luaus, this is the hardest to make (unless you cook a whole pig in an underground oven - if you do this then clearly you are awesome).

Mahi Mahi or other Fish
Since Hawaii is surrounded by the sea, it's not surprising that fish is an important dish at a luau. You don't have to get too ambitious. You can simply bread and bake some frozen mahi mahi filets (quite inexpensive) and serving it with lemon and tartar sauce. If you are a tuna fan, try baking some tuna filets covered with a thin layer of mayonnaise and furikake (a seaweed seasoning usually used on rice). And if you just don't care, then go to the supermarket and buy frozen fried fish fillets and heat them up in your oven.

Poke
The Hawaiians ate raw fish, seasoned with salt, seaweed, and kukui nuts...kinda like sashimi cubes mixed in a bunch of stuff. This dish, called poke (poh-keh) is typically made of raw cubes of ahi (tuna) seasoned with combinations of salt, seaweed, soy sauce, sesame oil, kukui nut (if available), onions, and more. If your friends don't like sushi, they probably won't like poke. That just means there's more for you.

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A FEW SIMPLE LUAU RECIPES

If you are planning to host a Hawaiian themed party, you will need to make some real luau food. Here are a few staple dishes that are found at almost all luaus. We've selected ingredients that should be readily available at your supermarket.

Crockpot Kalua Pig (serves 6-8 people)

Ingredients:

Pork butt chunk - 4 to 6 lbs
Hawaiian salt - 2 to 3 tablespoons
Liquid smoke - 2 teaspoons
Water - 2 cups

Rub the liquid smoke and the salt evenly all over the piece of pork. Add the water to the crockpot and cook on low heat for 6-8 hrs. The finished meat should be very tender and should shred very easily.

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Oven Kalua Pig (serves 6-8 people)

Ingredients:

Pork butt chunk - 4 to 6 lbs
Hawaiian salt - 2 to 3 tablespoons
Liquid smoke - 2 tablespoons
Aluminum FoilRoasting Pan

Traditional kalua pig is cooked in an underground oven full of hot rocks. But since that is impractical for most of us, here's how you can make it in the comforts of you kitchen. First, take the pork butt and score it all over. Then rub Hawaiian salt and liquid smoke on all sides. Place the seasoned butt onto a piece of aluminum foil and wrap it so that no steam can escape. Place it in a roasting pan and roast in an over preheated to 450F degrees. Cook at this temperature for 1 hour, then reduce the heat to 400F and cook for another 3-4 hours or until done. Shred the butt and add more Hawaiian salt if necessary. Your home-made kalua pig should taste like the real thing! Enjoy!

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Kalua Pig Sandwiches (Serves 6 people)

Ingredients:

Kalua Pig 2 lbs cooked
Hoagie Buns
Mayonnaise
BBQ Sauce

Spread mayonnaise or any other base condiment on you bread then apply a generous heaping of kalua pig (see our recipes above and below). This is the basic kalua pig sandwich. You can add barbeque sauce to it if you want.

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Hawaiian Barbeque Babyback Ribs (Serves 4-6 people)

Ingredients:

1 rack of pork babyback ribs (raw)
Half can of crushed pineapple with pineapple juice
BBQ sauce
1 cup Water

Place the raw ribs on a broiling pan and broil at 500 degrees for 15 minutes to seal the juices in. Remove from oven and spread bbq sauce on both sides of the ribs. Sprinkle on crushed pineapple and some pineapple juice. Add 1 cup of water to the broiling pan and seal completely with heavy duty aluminum foil. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for two hours or longer so the steam can soften the meat to fall-off-the-bone tender When done, brush on more bbq sauce and serve warm. If a grill is available (like at a tailgate party), reheat the cooked ribs on the grill to caramelize the sauce.

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Mojito in a Bag - Prepare Night Before (Courtesy of SWAM)

Ingredients:

1 bag Lt. Blender's Mojito
1 bottle Bacardi Dragonberry 375ml
WaterClub soda

Pour the entire bottle of Bacardi Dragonberry in the Lt. Blender's Mojito bag, fill water to the fill line, shake the bag, and then lay on it's side in the freezer. Freeze overnight. Take the frozen drink-in-a-bag to the tailgate party. Squeeze out the all ready slushy mojito into a cup and top off with a little club soda. Instant refreshment!! Serves about 15.

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Haupia (serves 16 people)

Ingredients:

Coconut milk - 1 can (12 oz)
Sugar - 6 tablespoons
Cornstarch - 6 tablesppons
Water - 3/4 cup
Vanilla extract - 1/2 teaspoon

Pour the coconut into a saucepan. Add water and cornstarch and blend well. Add low heat and add the sugar and vanilla extract while stirring until the mixture thickens. Pour mixture into an 8-inch square pan and chill covered until firm. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.

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Lomi Lomi Salmon (serves 8-10 people)

Ingredients:

Salted salmon - 1/2 to 3/4 lbs
Half a large onion
Green onion - 1 bunch
Tomatoes - 6 to 8 big ones

Lomi Salmon is a very popular Hawaiian dish commonly found on the menu at a luau. Some people like to eat it by itself while others like to mix it in their poi. Dice the tomatoes, but do not strain them, and place them in a large mixing bowl. Dice the onions into very small pieces and mix them into tomatoes. Chop up the green onions and mix them into the tomatoes. Shred the salted salmon into very small pieces and mix them into the tomatoes. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Taste the lomi salmon. The longer you let it sit, the saltier it gets. If it tastes bland, add more salted salmon (or salt). Not all salted salmon are equally salty so experiment with the ratio of salted salmon, tomatoes, and onions to suite your taste buds. But remember that it is supposed to be salty, but not so salty that it is overpowering.

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Chicken Long Rice (serves 12-15 people)

Ingredients:

Chicken Broth - 6 cups
Long Rice - 1 package (Oriental section of most markets)
Soy Sauce - 1/2 cup (to taste)
Sugar - 1/2 cup (to taste)
Chicken Strips - 1 1/2 cups
Onion - 1 chopped medium onion
Mushrooms - approx 7 sliced mushrooms
Garlic - 1 clove, minced
Water Chestnuts - 1/2 can

Chicken Long Rice is another staple found at almost all luaus and is fairly easy to make in large quantities. First soak the long rice in water for 15-20 minutes until it is slightly soft, then cut into smaller pieces about 6-8 inches in length. Cook the chicken in oil along with the garlic, onions, soy sauce, and sugar. When done, chop or shred into short strips. Pour 6 cans of chicken broth into a pot and bring to a mellow boil. Dump the chicken, mushrooms, onions and water chestnuts into the broth. Add the long rice and cook for approximately 15-20 minutes. The long rice will absorb most of the liquid during this time. Add the green onions and keep warm until served. Experiment with the ingredient content and ratios to your taste.