American Samoa is in the South Pacific right next to Samoa.
It’s close to Fiji… Closer to Australia than the U.S.
It’s only about 2500mi away from Hawaii…
Look. We were super lazy about this one. I’ll say it.
We decided to make palusami.. It’s a combination of taro leaves, coconut milk, onion, and corned beef.
Although, I have seen recipes that call for garlic, or spinach, too.
We found taro leaves at the Hawaiian grocery store that recently opened up in Milwaukee..
The guy there told my friend that his was the only place in the U.S. that sold it…
(yes, I’m sure there is a company that only ships taro leaves to milwaukee. and that’s it.)
Not to mention that the leaves were about $12.
For this.
We added spinach, because it wasn’t enough.
Anyway… We heated up the coconut milk and onion, and poured it over the taro leaves.
A lot of recipes said you could make balls (giggles), or a casserole.
Dude, I don’t even know how you would go about forming that stuff into a ball..?
We opted for the casserole….
Like I said.. We put fresh spinach on top…
And we kept the corned beef to the side.
We baked the “casserole” tightly covered with tinfoil(i guess saying tinfoil makes me old) for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
There’s this place close to my friend’s house that makes the best corned beef on the planet.
In keeping with the laziness, I just bought 3lbs of that.
Talk about expensive… That shit ran me $50. FIFTY DOLLARS FOR THREE POUNDS OF MEAT.
Sometimes I surprise myself with just how frivolous I am.
It’s a problem.
But….
Mmmmm. McBobs, you know how to make a mean corned beef.
I think it would have been nice to have some grilled pineapple on the side.
The sweet and tart would have been perfect.
But.. You know. That would have been work.
The taro leaves were kind of like spinach, but with a less.. harsh(?) flavor?
It was a little more earthy, and soft..
I really liked it.
And the saltiness of the corned beef on the side was amazing.
In the future, if I ever want a fancy(expensive) creamed spinach, I’m totally gonna fuck with that recipe, and ditch the casserole-ness of it.
I think it would just be nice to slow cook it on the stove..
Add some pepper and garlic..
OR. You could just add the corned beef straight to that as well…
Make a crazy version of Shit On A Shingle..
(S.O.S. was something my dad used to eat in The Air Force.. Chipped beef in cream sauce served on toast was a common meal for us growing up)
Anyway.
I think my favorite part about this adventure is coming up with new ideas for future meals, and learning about new combinations of flavors.
RECIPE
Palusami
1 package taro leaves
1 20oz can unsweetened coconut milk
1 medium onion, chopped
Fresh baby spinach leaves
(I don’t even know why I’m writing this down. But whatever.)
