🇼🇸 Samoan Cuisine

Moa Umu

Earth Oven Chicken

Prep Time 30 min

Servings 6

Difficulty Hard

Calories 412 kcal

Whole chicken rubbed with garlic and wrapped in banana leaves, slow-cooked in the traditional Samoan umu earth oven until incredibly tender and smoky.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (about 1.8 kg)
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 onion, quartered
Salt and pepper
Banana leaves for wrapping

Instructions

1 Clean and pat dry the chicken. Rub inside and out with crushed garlic, soy sauce, salt, and pepper.
2 Stuff cavity with quartered onion.
3 Wrap chicken tightly in banana leaves, then in aluminum foil.
4 If using umu, place among hot stones and cover. If using oven, bake at 170C for 2.5 hours.
5 Unwrap carefully, allowing steam to escape. The chicken should be falling-off-the-bone tender.
6 Serve with taro and coconut cream.

Did You Know?

The umu is lit before dawn on Sundays in Samoan villages, and the whole community participates in preparing the stones and food.