🇵🇬 Papua New Guinean Cuisine

Pitpit

Wild Sugarcane Shoots

Prep Time 10 min

Servings 4

Difficulty Easy

Calories 97 kcal

Young wild sugarcane flower shoots steamed or sauteed with coconut cream and garlic. This uniquely Melanesian vegetable has a delicate, asparagus-like flavor found nowhere else in world cuisine.

Ingredients

8 pitpit shoots (or substitute asparagus)
1/2 cup coconut cream
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Salt to taste
Squeeze of lime

Instructions

1 Remove outer tough leaves from pitpit shoots, keeping the tender inner core and flower head.
2 If using coastal pitpit, leave the natural leaf sheath on for steaming.
3 Steam pitpit 8-10 minutes until tender when pierced with a knife.
4 Meanwhile, heat coconut oil and gently cook garlic 1 minute.
5 Arrange steamed pitpit on a plate, drizzle with garlic oil and coconut cream.
6 Season with salt and lime juice. Serve immediately.

Did You Know?

There are two types of pitpit in PNG: coastal pitpit (Saccharum edule) eaten for its flower, and Highland pitpit eaten for its stem. They are different species despite sharing a name.