🇹🇴 Tongan Cuisine

Umu Chicken

Earth Oven Roasted Chicken

Prep Time 30 min

Servings 6

Difficulty Hard

Calories 368 kcal

Whole chicken wrapped in banana leaves and slow-cooked in an earth oven with hot stones.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (1.5kg)
Banana leaves
1 onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper
1 cup coconut cream
Hot stones for umu
Taro leaves

Instructions

1 Season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic.
2 Stuff cavity with onion.
3 Pour coconut cream over chicken.
4 Wrap in taro leaves, then banana leaves.
5 Place in earth oven on hot stones.
6 Cover and cook 3 hours until tender.

Did You Know?

The umu (earth oven) is used for every major celebration in Tonga, from weddings to royal feasts.