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IMU FAQ: KALUA PIG IN KOREA
Caution about an Imu in Korea Up until the 1980s, human waste was the fertilizer of choice for the rice farms. Then the Miracle of the Han reached Korea and chemical fertilizers replaced human waste. But chemicals were indiscriminately used and polluted many areas. In addition, their disposal of toxic waste products became a serious problem with clandestine dumping in the "green belt" surrounding Seoul. Even today pesticides and toxic chemicals which are banned in the United States are used for agriculture in Korea. These chemical byproducts endup in the water tables. During the 1990s, many wells on farms throughout the country were found to be contaminated with hazardous chemicals. Even today, Koreans don't trust their water supply...and every home is equipped with a water filtration system to filter the tap water.
Kanaka Note:Kimchee cabbage (Wombak, Pak-choi or Bok choy) is known as "paekchu" in Korean. The stalks are pale and range from light green to ivory-white, and the glossy leaves, which are the distinctive feature of this vegetable are dark green. It is a perennial and available throughout the year. The cabbage is used in winter/summer kimchee as well as cut into pieces to use in water kimchee (mul kimchee).Another group will fill the inside of the pig with hot rocks -- especially around the meaty areas of the shoulder and loins. Wire the chicken wire basket shut and place on top of the bed of leaves (cabbage or watercress). Add any other food (fish, shell fish, vegetables) you wish to roast on top of the chicken wire along with the pig. Add the sweet potato (goguma) baskets. Put another layer of leaves (kimchee cabbage or watercress) over the food. As there is no abundance of banana or ti leaves in Korea, well-soaked burlap bags can be used if available. However, in recent years burlap bags has become a scarce commodity in Korea as the Korean rice farmers switched to polystrene bags for their rice. A sub could be cardboard boxes from the BX dumpster. Be sure to presoak the cardboard boxes. Another sub could be discarded heavy canvas (tarpaulin) pieces from a salvaged tent cover -- well-soaked with water. Layer the bags, canvas or boxes on top of the leaves (kimchee cabbage or watercress). Then cover the entire mound with several layers of the cheap blue plastic sheeting that Korean farmers use. The purpose is to keep the dirt out of the food and to trap the steam in the imu. Put a generous amount of dirt around the edge of the plastic so that no air can get into the imu and so that NO STEAM can escape from it. Shovel dirt over the plastic and cook at least 8-10 hours or more -- though cooking time is less for smaller pigs. Check for steam leaks periodically while the food cooks because if you lose heat then the food will take longer to cook. To patch the leaks, simply tamp the dirt with the back end of a shovel. When the pig is deemed cooked by the "luna," the imu is uncovered in reverse. Keep a bucket of water nearby as the steaming pig and leaves are hot enough to burn your hands. Once the pig in the chicken wire basket is revealed remove it and transfer it to a large, shallow container, preferably with handles, for transporting the cooked pig to the kitchen. Once the pig and other food is out of the imu, leave the pit open to let all the coals burn out. However, if there is no container big enough to transport the entire cooked pig, prepare a flat plywood work table set up on saw horses beforehand near the imu to cut the pig into smaller pieces to be transported to the kitchen. Be sure you have a bucket of water to dip your hands in periodically as you scoop the tender, steaming meat off the pig. The kitchen crew is under a separate "luna" and in true Hawaiian-style fashion the kitchen will be organized chaos. Once the pig comes out of the imu, it's the kitchen crew's job to strip the pig from the bone. Use the pig shoulder bone as a shovel. Be sure you have a bowl of water to dip your hands into periodically because the meat is steaming hot. Be sure to allow enough preparation time. An essential website to visit for the other foods that go along with a luau, is Aunty Leilani's Big Luau. It contains all the recipes for the essentials to make any luau a success. Terrific recipes that are simple and can be easily made for any occasion. Remember that the day after the luau, it is the imu crew's job to show up to clean up the area and fill in the hole. The hole makes a nice place to burn all the trash left from the luau. Save the stones in a safe place for the next luau. The Luna: The Most Important Person The one thing NOT mentioned in imu preparations is the appointment of the "Luna" (foreman) or person with the imu experience. His decisions will mean the success or failure of the kalua pig. In this case, you need a luna with Korea experience. There are no disputes in cooking the pig -- the luna's word on the imu is law. Yongsan Garrison Kalua Pig: A Kauai-boy (still in Korea), Carl Ancheta, who was formerly stationed at Yongsan Army Post in Seoul said they had done "three holers" for making kalua pig as part of the Asia-Pacific festivities there. Thus kalua pig in Korea is possible. If you are seriously thinking about imu-style kalua pig, contact the Yongsan Public Affairs people. They may be able to hook you up with the actual people who have done this in Korea. They may have insights on problems and workarounds that they used. Ordering whole pigs can be done by special order through the commissary. But Carl also told me that the Yongsan folks cheated a little on their "kalua pig". They parcelled out the chopped-up pig parts, cooked them in the home ovens (using pork butt recipes), then reassembled it for the final cooking in the imu. Smart, yeah? They had imu stones according to Carl. He didn't know where they got them, but I suspect they came up from Cheju Island if they were lava stone -- the same way we got lava stones from Arizona to Oklahoma ... with GI ingenuity when nobody was looking. (NOTE: When choosing lava stone in Korea be sure to use river stones that are rounded and have already passed the "natural selection" test of being beaten around for ages. Always preheat these rocks to test for air pockets in the stone.) Kanaka Note: STONES: But they may also have been granite stones from up near the DMZ. Because we live in the south at Kunsan where mountain riverbed stones are unsuitable, we never thought of the granite stones up north before. For those in the northern end of South Korea, the stream beds abound with the granite stones. These stones retain heat because of density. Select stones that are rounded as they have undergone the process of "natural selection" (been beaten around for ages) without cracking. Select stones for the imu of varied size from small to medium. From tales from Camp Stanton, some stones when heated in a blazing inferno simply cracked instead of exploding. However, caution should always be practiced with unknown stones being pre-heated. Same as with lava rock - stay clear!!!According to Carl, the folks at Yongsan did NOT use banana stumps. This was very curious. Steam is an essential for cooking a pig the traditional way -- so we were a little stumped. My friend didn't know what they used in place of the banana stump, but we guessed that they didn't really need anything as the pig was already pre-cooked -- and all the digging up of the holes was more for show. Sorta like the haole tourist luaus in Hawaii. However, I strongly suspect there was some sort of steam-producing vegetable material whether watercress (mulnaegi) or kimchee cabbage (wombak) was used as the pig laid directly on the coals would burn the pig. If anyone plans on attempting this Yongsan method of pre-cooking the portions of pig, they should also attempt to include some sort of "steam material" (watercress, kimchee cabbage, etc.) to the imu directly on the stones. Remember that if using watercress you'll need a six-inch later as a minimum. Also remember to wrap up loads of sweet potato or yams in chicken wire to throw into the imu. When in season, yams are dirt cheap in Korea. It has been reported that people also throw in turkeys, chicken, hams and assorted veggies (carrots, onions) also in chicken wire to cook by steam as well. Though I haven't seen it, it is reasonable to assume that they could be done in the same way. But the most important factor to consider when attempting an imu in Korea is the site location well ABOVE the water table. Most bases in Korea have problems associated with high water tables (due to surrounding rice fields) and as a result, major sanitation problems dealing with animal/human waste seepage, as well as chemical pollution in the ground water. Remember that many bases are surrounded by rice paddies where human excreta was the fertilizer for generations -- and even now pig farms add to the sanitation problem. It is vitally important to select a location that is above the surrounding ricefields -- preferably on a hillside. Remember that Yongsan is on a hill and doesn't have the water table/sewage problems of most other Korean sites in low-lying areas. For example, Camp Gary Owens has a pig farm right along its perimeter fence and base is NOT above the surrounding farms. This would NOT be a good place for an imu. Also there's the hassles of obtaining a digging-permits on/off-base if you're planning to do it "by the book." If you are stationed on a ROKAF base such as Kwangju AB, you may have problems as the ROK are much more strict on punching holes in the ground. USFK controlled bases are much easier to obtain permission. Camp Stanton Kalua Pig: My cousin Kahakauwila Sham related how they did it up at Camp Stanton in 2003. Another of the troops was the "luna" of this luau and chose to cook the pig in a quasi-"Samoan-style" where none of the rocks went inside, but surrounded the pig in the imu instead. They got two 250# pigs already dressed (gutted and bled) through the base sources. The pig was salted and then wrapped in chicken wire. Two 500 foot rolls of aluminum foil were procured from the chow hall and were used to completely wrap the pig in the chicken wire. The location they chose was near the baseball field on the Camp Stanton -- which was above the water table. This location precluded any ground water contamination. The hole was approximately 4x8 feet and maybe 3-4 feet deep -- deep enough to have the pig below ground level once in the pit. The GRANITE stones were retrieved from local area river beds. The stones selected were of varied sizes and chosen because of their high density. Well-rounded stones should be selected as they have undergone the "natural selection" process of tumbling to achieve their shape and most likely not susceptible to cracking. The stones were NOT pre-heated, but there were no problems experienced with explosions. Some of the stones cracked from the intense heat and its heat bearing ability was attested as the insides glowed red hot when they split. Along the west coast of Korea, most of the riverbed stones are sedimentary and unsuitable as imu stones. However, the rock quarries near Osan AB/Pyongtaek and Kunsan AB are options. We've never tried it but the quarries use granite rock from the hillsides. These were formerly military operated quarries, but have long ago been turned over to ROK companies. One can see the massive rock crushers from miles away...as well as the piles of crushed rock. Just an idea...Kimchee cabbage (paekchu) was used for steam production. Cardboard boxes were used in lieu of the traditional banana leaves or tarpaulin to trap the steam. (NOTE: The final plastic tarp to complete the seal was NOT used. They used additional cardboard boxes and dirt to patch any steam leaks.) First the granite river stones were piled in the center of the pit. Next a wood pyramid was built up using about 20-30 broken up pallets. The pallets were allowed to burn down for about 1-2 hours until only coals and stones remained. The stones and coals were spread out into a bed. The pig wrapped in tinfoil was placed in the center of the coals. The hot stones were clustered around the pigs. The wombak cabbage was thrown ontop of the stones and pig to create the steam. Atop the cabbage, cardboard boxes were stacked and over that a layer of dirt built up to trap the steam. After a bit of time, more cardboard boxes and dirt were used to seal the steam leaks. Though not mentioned, we're sure they used a water hose to sprinkle the dirt to allow it to "pack" better. According to Kahakauwila, the pig remained in the imu for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours and turned out well-cooked and "ono." (NOTE: The cooking time was much shorter than anticipated for two 250# pigs. Perhaps it was that the pigs were in direct contact with the stones instead of over a layer of steam-producing material (banana stumps or kimchee cabbage). We questioned how the steam would get to the pig with the pig wrapped tin-foil, but didn't really get a good answer. Perhaps the steam from the cabbage allowed the pig to slow cook, but most likely someone poked holes in the aluminum foil. Regardless, the pig turned out "ono" so we can't really question the results as it worked.) 
WOOD TIP: Alika Kaeka of Pullayup, WA wrote, "I cook Kalua Pig "Imu style" as a side business in Washington State. I have learned to adapt to local resources here in the N.W. one thing I didn't see in the FAQ that I think might be important to all the mainlanders is NOT to use wood with sap (Pine) the sap will permiate into the pig and change the taste." Later he added, "I use dry fruitwood such as "Apple or Cherry" when I'm out of that I use oak or madrona. I find that these types of wood burn hotter and will get a bigger percentage of the rocks "white hot" versus other softer wood."
Korean-style Pork Butt:For an ideal of dishes for a luau, go to the RECIPE PAGE for Aunty's recipes -- so simple and so ono-licious. IMU FAQ :Dig one large hole.  hmmm...my two cents worth: :Dig one large hole. Fill it with firewood and large smooth rocks. Important: make sure the rocks don't contain water. You'll have one interesting time if they do. Stay away from sedimentary rocks, stick to igneous rocks. Sandstone, I understand, is a poor choice. That's a key reason why large lava rocks are ideal. [snip...] Line the pit completely with the rocks -- no bare, rock free spots. Burn the wood on top of it. Hardwood -- as usual -- is best. :Set the fire and let it burn to coals; rocks should be HOT. Rake any remaining coals to one side, leaving the hot rocks bare. :Layer of leaves???? Yes...bottom layered with banana leaves (lots)...ti leaves can be used on top where the pig will be. It's the leaves which provide the steam which will cook the pig. [Kanaka note: Actually...it's the banana stumps (mashed with the flat side of a sledge hammer) as the bottom layer in the imu that provides the steam. Later in this FAQ, another poster suggests substituting watercress for a 6" layer -- a good idea. In California, watercress is also found wild in great abundance. In Korea, "mulnaegi" or watercress is readily available most any time of year.:Put cleaned and gutted pig on rocks, as well as other food. Place the pig on netting of chicken wire to facilitate movement/removal. The wire can be wrapped loosely around the pig to form a sort of bag. Pig is placed cavity side up in the pit. I recall ti leaves on occasion being placed with the body cavity of the pig and laulau -- wrapped in it leaves, of course -- being placed inside as well. :Put edible leaves???? and then a layer of sacking over food. I remember more ti leaves and a whole bunch of banana leaves over the food. I'd think that by sacking, Karen means burlap sacks. And I'd guess that they'd be wet sacks at that. :Shovel dirt over sacking and wait a few hours. The finished project was a mound of dirt about 3-4 feet high. And if I recall correctly, it was an overnight wait...the pig was put in late afternoon the day before and removed in time to be eaten for dinner. :Dig up food. And enjoy. :The food is steamed/baked by heat from the rocks and the coals. It's hot, dirty nasty work. Wouldn't you rather just barbeque the pig? Barbequed pig not the same as kalua pig...and kalua pig accompanied by good laulau can't be beat!  I've experienced three different ways to "pit-roast" a pig: Kanaka note: While in the army in Germany my nephew Kaeo O'Sullivan stated that they used a shaft as a spit with low-speed gear welded to it. A low-speed electric motor was used to turn the rotiserrie. Pig was 2 3/4 feet above the coals. Worked fine.In my back yard here in Hilo I made an umu (which is a shallow imu) lined with firebrick which works well for me. Here's the deal: 1) call the fire department and tell them when you're going to set the back yard on fire so that when the neighbors call to complain about the smoke, you'll be OK; 2) have about 1/4 cord of keawe, lichee or ohia wood, well-dried for the fire along with 1 can of charcoal starter fluid (yeah, just the way Hawaiians have been doing for 1000's of years...). On the bottom of the pit put about 2-3 sections of crumpled newspaper, overlay that with criss-crossed kindling to a height of ~ a foot with 2" diameter plastic tube upright in the center; this tube is the chimney which will alter act as a kind of flue for burning of the wood and it will be eventually removed before the fire is started; the firewood is then stacked criss-cross to a height of about 3-3 1/2 feet and saturated with starter fluid; Now take the imu stones (how to choose is another story...just ask and I'll give the details) and make a uniform layer of stones covering the wood; you need about twice the volume of stones as pig and it's better to have too many stones; Now remove the pipe which was the chimney and put a piece of lighted newspaper down the flue and also light the lower edges; the fire will start and if you are patient in about 5 minutes will become a remarkable inferno; Wait about 1-1 1/2 hours until much of the wood is coals then level the bed of stones and remove the larger pieces of unburnt wood; put a layer of quartered banana stumps on top of the stones; put the pig which has been dehaired, opened at the haunches, salted, half-wrapped in chicken wire, partially filled with stones from the imu which have been briefly dipped in water to clean them, finish-tied the chicken wire on top of the banana stalk layer; cover with several layers of banana leaves then many tops of ti plants; cover that with 30-40 burlap sacks which have been soaking in water; cover that with junky old tarpaulin; cover that with new plastic sheet, the edges of which are imbedded in the soil around the pit to prevent the steam from escaping; Check periodically for steam leaks while drinking beer and playing music; 8-10 hours after open pit and remove pig for shredding (another story). Oh, no fo'get invite me eh? Kanaka note: Have seen this pit idea used in Oklahoma with good results over thirty years ago. Over the years have heard many folks talk about using this method in their backyards in the states and Hawaii. Preparation of pig and fire as normal. The biggest advantage is that the pit is reuseable and cleanup after a pig is minimal...no burying the pit and waiting for the grass to grow back. Have also heard that this method is currently used commercially in Oakland, California area -- except they use gas pipes that encircle the pits. [snip] :cover with several layers of banana leaves then many tops of ti plants. We've even substituted watercress for the banana leaves and stumps, as we had tons of it in the mountain lakes in Arizona and Utah. And you need a lot...enough to make a 6" thick layer over the "whole hole"!!!! [snip] Right on, Kawika, Good job!!! That is just the way my grandfather from Keaukaha taught me to kalua da pua'a!!! Must be Hilo thing!!! Aloha and invite me too.  Dis pretty much covas it...'cept da part ob dipping stones in wata..nevba wen go try dis..no explode?  It seems I left a few loose threads on the last imu post. Here's my too logical thoughts on choosing imu stones... (Kanaka note: In Korea in 2003, my cousin Kahakauwila Sham was stationed with the 6th CAV up in Camp Stanton -- small base near the DMZ. They kalua'd two 250 pound pigs up there and used GRANITE river rocks. So simple that we never thought of it before. These stones retain heat because of density. They used a quasi-"Samoan-style" method which is described elsewhere. But for those in the northern end of Korea, the stream beds abound with the granite stones. Selection of stones for the imu were of varied size. Some stones when heated in a blazing inferno made up of discarded wood pallettes simply cracked instead of exploding. However, caution should always be practiced with unknown stones being pre-heated. Same as with lava rock - stay clear. This final entry was excerpted from alt.recipes.hawaii in Nov 99. KALUA PIG PREPARED IN AN IMU From tanya_n_andy@hotmail.com Dig a pit that will be of suitable size to contain pig without being so large as to not concentrate the heat adequately. For a 200# pig, the hole should be approximately 3' wide x 5' long x 1' deep. Stand a 3' - 4' long, 6"- 8" diameter pipe in the center of the pit. Place newspaper and kindling on the bottom of the pit and then stack keawe (mesquite) wood on top of that, extending at least 1' above the top of the pit. Arrange the lava rocks on top of the wood pile. The rocks should be of sufficient quantity to cover the bottom of the pit after the fire has burned down and also have enough to fill the stomach cavity of the pig. Lava rocks that have been worn smooth in a river bed are the preferred choice for use in an imu. Remove the pipe in the center of the pit and drop a lit newspaper into the hole. This hole provides the source for oxygen to enter the pit and burn the wood. DO NOT USE ANY TYPE OF FUEL TO LIGHT THE FIRE. The odor will be absorbed by the meat and you will taste it when you eat the pig. The fire should burn for approximately 1.5 - 2 hours. During this time, any pieces of wood that are not burning well should be placed in an area of the pit where they will be burned. While the fire is burning down, preparation of the pig should begin. Make some deep, long slices into any thick meaty parts on the carcass. The butt, shoulder and thighs should all be sliced in this manner to allow better heat absorption by the meat. After about 1.5 hours, rocks should be pulled out of the fire and placed into the pig. After the pig has been filled with the rocks, It's legs should be bound together and the carcass should be wrapped in clean chicken wire. The pig will be placed in the imu on it's back so loops should be fashioned on the top (foot side) of the wire wrapping so that a long pipe can be slid through the loops and the pig can be lifted into and out of the imu. After about 2 hours, the fire should be knocked down and the remaining rocks spread out in an even layer on the floor of the imu. Chicken wire is placed on top of the rocks and should cover the entire bottom of the pit. Shredded banana stumps are then generously spread on the chicken wire and should also cover the entire bottom of the pit. Banana leaves are then layered on top of the shredded banana stumps. The pig, wrapped in the chicken wire with the hot rocks inside of it is then placed on top of the banana leaves. More banana leaves are layered on top of the pig and then ti leaves are layered on top of the banana leaves.. Well soaked burlap bags (50 minimum) are layered on top of the leaves and the entire mound is then covered by several layers of construction grade (as thick as you can find) plastic sheeting. Put a generous amount of dirt around the edge of the plastic so that NO AIR can get into the imu and so that NO STEAM can escape from it. This is the MOST CRITICAL part of the process because you do not want the embers at the bottom of the imu to lose their intensity. No more than 10 minutes should elapse from the time the fire is knocked down and the rocks spread out on the floor of the imu to the time the dirt has been piled on the edge of the plastic. Also, since the pig is cooked by steam, and the imu is essentially a pressure cooker, any loss of steam will reduce the efficiency of the oven. If steam is escaping, it's a good possibility that air is also entering the imu. This will cause the embers to flame and char the meat. You can't use too much dirt on the edge of the plastic to make sure that the oven is SEALED. The fire should be lit at around 4 p.m. the afternoon before you wish to serve the meat. That means that the pig should be in the ground and the dirt on the plastic no later than 6:15 p.m. The pig can be removed the next morning around 10:00 a.m. and the meat rubbed with Hawaiian (rock) salt and shredded for serving by around 12:00 noon. Of course, the meat can be refrigerated and re-heated for serving at any time. Traditional accompaniments to Kalua Pig at a luau are: Lau Lau, Lomi Salmon, Chicken Long Rice, Poi, Rice, and Haupia. Enjoy! |
 Comments? Send email to: kalani@kalaniosullivan.com
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