{"id":4138,"date":"2017-06-05T07:12:40","date_gmt":"2017-06-05T11:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.insightvacations.com\/?p=4138"},"modified":"2024-04-05T13:03:19","modified_gmt":"2024-04-05T12:03:19","slug":"maori-cooking-art-hangi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insightvacations.com\/blog\/maori-cooking-art-hangi\/","title":{"rendered":"M\u0101ori Cooking: The Art of H\u0101ngi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Famous across the Pacific region, there\u2019s an unusual style of cooking that has refused to go out of fashion for thousands of years thanks to the delicious dishes it produces. Most popular in New Zealand, where it\u2019s called \u201cH\u0101ngi\u201d, the art of H\u0101ngi is a deceptively simple affair that involves a pit, rocks, leaves and hot ashes beneath it all. Combining the high temperatures of a wood-burning oven with moisture trapped inside the leaf-wrapped food, the hot pit (full of smoky rocks and the aromas of hot turf) imparts its own incredible flavors.<\/p>\n

\"Maori<\/a><\/p>\n

Hangi \u00a9 iStock\/indiginz<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the most important stages in any H\u0101ngi is making sure the food packs a punch before it\u2019s thrown in the pit. Whether it\u2019s beef, pork or chicken, there should be big tubs of soy, mirin and chillies on hand to add big flavors in a day-long marinade. That\u2019s not where it ends, though. Pork loins are then rubbed with red curry paste and kawakawa (a local herb); chicken has Manuka honey and ginger rubbed all over; and lamb is smothered with rosemary and garlic.<\/p>\n

\"Maori<\/a><\/p>\n

Skirt Steak \u00a9 sf_foodphoto<\/a><\/p>\n

A large wire basket should be prepared, too. Lined with foil if you want to be modern, and countless layers of cabbage or flax leaves if traditional ways are preferred, fill the basket with the kai (food). Then, stock the hole in the ground (roughly half a meter deep) with lots of wood, especially hard woods that create long-burning ash, and volcanic rocks. Making sure the rocks are volcanic may sound superfluous, but Maoris use them because their non-volcanic equivalents tend to crack or explode at high temperatures.<\/p>\n

\"Maori<\/a><\/p>\n

Coals \u00a9 iStock\/RADsan<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to remember that a H\u0101ngi is not an exotic BBQ, in fact, it\u2019s more of a steam-cooker. The steam comes from the non-flammable sackcloths, soaked in water, that are laid across the top layer of stones. This steam pushes through the twigs and sticks that hold up the food on offer, from k\u016bmara (sweet potatoes) to steamed pudding, which sits beneath a covering of soil that insulates it from the wind. Cooking times depend on the size of the meal, but tend to last between two and four hours.<\/p>\n

\"Maori<\/a><\/p>\n

Hangi \u00a9 iStock\/amelita1<\/a><\/p>\n

Whilst a H\u0101ngi can be used for every-day cooking, larger pits tend to be reserved for festivals, clan gatherings and big celebrations. These are often preluded by local customs like the \u201cHongi\u201d greeting. Taking the place of a formal handshake or welcome in the western world, the symbolism behind the touching of foreheads and noses is meant to turn the recipient from a visitor (manuhiri) into a M\u0101ori (tangata whenua), ensuring that H\u0101ngi dinners are rarely formal occasions, but rather fun, sit-downs with friends.<\/p>\n

If you would like to experience local customs and savor the unique flavors of a traditional h\u0101ngi dinner head to Rotorua, where geothermal steam cooks food to perfection on The Long White Cloud<\/a> trip.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Famous across the Pacific region, there\u2019s an unusual style of cooking that has refused to go out of fashion for thousands of years thanks to the delicious dishes it produces. Most popular in New Zealand, where it\u2019s called \u201cH\u0101ngi\u201d, the art of H\u0101ngi is a deceptively simple affair that involves a pit, rocks, leaves and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":4141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1167,1823],"tags":[580,773,254,253,1041,277,860,842,1042],"class_list":["post-4138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia","category-food-drink","tag-bbq","tag-cooking","tag-cuisine","tag-food","tag-hangi","tag-luxury-gold","tag-maori","tag-new-zealand","tag-rotorua"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nM\u0101ori Cooking: The Art of H\u0101ngi - Insight Vacations<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Combining the high temperatures of a wood-burning oven with moisture trapped inside the leaf-wrapped food, read all about Maori Cooking Hangi-style...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.insightvacations.com\/blog\/maori-cooking-art-hangi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"M\u0101ori Cooking: The Art of H\u0101ngi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Combining the high temperatures of a wood-burning oven with moisture trapped inside the leaf-wrapped food, read all about Maori Cooking Hangi-style...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.insightvacations.com\/blog\/maori-cooking-art-hangi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Insight Vacations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-05T11:12:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-05T12:03:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.insightvacations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/grilled-skirt-steak-istock-sf_foodphoto-www.istockphoto.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1290\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1081\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alex Allen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alex Allen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insightvacations.com\\\/blog\\\/maori-cooking-art-hangi\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insightvacations.com\\\/blog\\\/maori-cooking-art-hangi\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alex Allen\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insightvacations.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cade8967fa4ea6a004ba769d5b50022b\"},\"headline\":\"M\u0101ori Cooking: The Art of H\u0101ngi\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-05T11:12:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-05T12:03:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insightvacations.com\\\/blog\\\/maori-cooking-art-hangi\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":513,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insightvacations.com\\\/blog\\\/maori-cooking-art-hangi\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insightvacations.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/06\\\/grilled-skirt-steak-istock-sf_foodphoto-www.istockphoto.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"BBQ\",\"Cooking\",\"Cuisine\",\"Food\",\"Hangi\",\"Luxury Gold\",\"Maori\",\"New Zealand\",\"Rotorua\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Asia\",\"Food & Drink\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insightvacations.com\\\/blog\\\/maori-cooking-art-hangi\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insightvacations.com\\\/blog\\\/maori-cooking-art-hangi\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.insightvacations.com\\\/blog\\\/maori-cooking-art-hangi\\\/\",\"name\":\"M\u0101ori Cooking: The Art of H\u0101ngi - 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