Meat, sweet potatoes, and greens layered with hot stones and banana leaves, cooked underground. PNG's sacred communal cooking method.
Nutrition & Info
Equipment Needed
Presentation Guide
Instructions
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1
If cooking traditionally, heat river stones or volcanic rocks in a large fire for two to three hours until glowing red. Dig a pit and line with banana leaves. For oven adaptation, preheat to 180C and use Dutch ovens wrapped in foil as a substitute.
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2
Season the meat with salt and wrap in banana leaves. Place the greens in banana leaves with coconut cream poured over them, wrapping into a sealed parcel. Wrap the sweet potatoes and taro together in another banana leaf package.
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3
Layer the hot stones in the lined pit. Place the meat package directly on the stones first as it needs the most intense heat. Stack the root vegetable packages next, then the greens package on top where the heat is gentlest.
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4
Cover everything with additional banana leaves, then wet burlap sacking or heavy cloth, and finally a thick layer of earth to seal in all the heat and steam. The sealed environment creates a pressurised steaming chamber.
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5
Cook for three to four hours without disturbing. The combination of radiant heat from the stones and trapped steam slowly cooks everything to perfect tenderness. For oven method, cook in sealed Dutch ovens with a cup of water at 180C for three hours.
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6
Carefully remove the earth and coverings. The banana leaves will be darkened and the food inside will be steaming and incredibly tender. Unwrap each package at the communal gathering, allowing the aromatic steam to greet the assembled guests.
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7
Arrange the mumu food on large banana leaves for communal serving. The meat should be fall-apart tender, the root vegetables creamy and sweet, and the coconut-braised greens silky. This earth-oven feast is the centrepiece of celebrations across Papua New Guinea.
Did You Know?
Mumu feasts mark important events in PNG — from pig exchanges to peace ceremonies between clans.
Chef's Notes
Equipment Tips
- earth oven pit
- hot stones
- banana leaves
- wire mesh
Garnishing
fresh greens
Accompaniments
The Story Behind Mumu
The Story: Mumu is the Papua New Guinean earth oven feast, the supreme cooking method for ceremonial occasions across most of the country's cultural groups. A pit is dug, filled with fire-heated stones, then layered with food: sweet potato, taro, yams, bananas, greens, and meat (typically chicken, lamb, or beef) are wrapped in banana leaves and placed over the stones, covered with more leaves and earth, and left to steam-cook for several hours. The food emerges tender, smoky, and infused with the earthy flavors of the leaves and soil. The mumu is not merely a cooking method but a social event requiring communal labor and organization.
On the Calendar: Mumu is prepared for significant community events: bride price exchanges, funerals, church celebrations, national holidays, and the resolution of disputes. The size and quality of a mumu reflects the importance of the occasion and the status of the host.
Then & Now: The mumu tradition remains vigorously alive across PNG, practiced in both rural and peri-urban settings. While the specific foods cooked may vary (canned fish and rice sometimes appear alongside traditional items), the earth oven technique itself has not changed in millennia. Urban Papua New Guineans return to their home villages for important mumu occasions.
Legacy: Mumu is PNG's great communal cooking tradition, transforming raw ingredients and hot stones into a feast that binds communities together through shared labor, shared food, and shared celebration.
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