Ulu Chips
Like bananas, ulu or breadfruit, ripens very quickly. Due to its rich, dense texture, you can only eat so much cooked ulu in one sitting. Instead of letting this beautiful fruit go to waste, here’s a recipe for fried green ulu chips. A green ulu is ready to harvest when the sap has dripped onto the fruit and has dried. The skin of the ulu will have started to show yellow with brown areas. If there are any soft spots, the ulu is already over-ripe.
The green ulu needs to be cut as thin as possible, initially with a knife. Next, using a mandoline is the key to slicing perfect chips!
Ingredients:
| green ulu, ready to cook – we use Maʻafala variety, which is common in Hawaiʻi | |
| oil | |
| garlic powder | |
| salt |
Instructions:
- Remove the skin of green ulu and cut ulu into large chunks using a knife, removing the central core and seeds
- In a large bowl, slice ulu with a mandoline slicer – thinner is best for crispy chips
- Deep fry in hot oil until golden-brown and crisp
- Drain on a paper towel-lined foil pan
- Sprinkle with a mixture of garlic powder and salt
- Cool thoroughly before storing in plastic bags
To easily trim the skin off of an ulu, a traditional Samoan asi was used. It was made from a coconut shell that was filed to make sharp edges. It wasn’t until Western influence that an asi would be made out of a steel or metal can.
Recipe submitted by Sharyl Lam Yuen
