Poe uru
Baked pudding of breadfruit and banana, bound with manioc or arrowroot starch and enriched with coconut milk. The texture is dense and melting, halfway between a flan and a fruit paste. It is served in cut portions, warm or at room temperature.
Baked pudding of breadfruit and banana, bound with manioc or arrowroot starch and enriched with coconut milk. The texture is dense and melting, halfway between a flan and a fruit paste. It is served in cut portions, warm or at room temperature.
Poe, we prepare it when the uru are so ripe they fall by themselves, that is the sign that the gods are pleased with the season. We mash the flesh with the sweetest banana, add the milk of the nut, and all that goes into the stone oven wrapped in leaves. When it comes out, it is soft as the earth after rain. On the marae, I would place a portion before the stone of the god Oro before anyone touched it — what belongs to the gods first, then to men.
- •Very ripe breadfruit — One whole fruit (Sweet and starchy base)
- •Ripe bananas — Three or four (Natural sugar)
- •Fresh coconut milk — The milk of one nut (Binder and creaminess)
- •Arrowroot (pia) — A handful of starch (Thickener)
- •Banana leaves — For wrapping (Cooking wrap)
Poe uru
Baked pudding of breadfruit and banana, bound with manioc or arrowroot starch and enriched with coconut milk. The texture is dense and melting, halfway between a flan and a fruit paste. It is served in cut portions, warm or at room temperature.
Why this dish? Poe (Polynesian pudding) accompanied ceremonies on the marae where Tupaia officiated as priest. This sweet dish, made with the ripest fruits, was offered to the gods during seasonal rituals. Breadfruit, a sacred tree in Polynesian cosmology, makes it a doubly symbolic offering.
Poe, we prepare it when the uru are so ripe they fall by themselves, that is the sign that the gods are pleased with the season. We mash the flesh with the sweetest banana, add the milk of the nut, and all that goes into the stone oven wrapped in leaves. When it comes out, it is soft as the earth after rain. On the marae, I would place a portion before the stone of the god Oro before anyone touched it — what belongs to the gods first, then to men.
Ingredients (period version)
- Very ripe breadfruit — One whole fruit (Sweet and starchy base)
- Ripe bananas — Three or four (Natural sugar)
- Fresh coconut milk — The milk of one nut (Binder and creaminess)
- Arrowroot (pia) — A handful of starch (Thickener)
- Banana leaves — For wrapping (Cooking wrap)
Ingredients
- Breadfruit (fresh or frozen) — 500 g flesh (Base)
- Very ripe bananas — 3 (about 300 g) (Natural sugar)
- Coconut milk — 400 ml (Binder)
- Arrowroot or tapioca starch — 60 g (Thickener)
- Banana leaves (optional, for mold) — 2 leaves (Wrap)
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Cook the breadfruit in boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain and mash into a smooth purée.
- Mash the bananas with a fork and mix with the breadfruit purée.
- Dissolve the starch in cold coconut milk, then incorporate everything into the mixture. Stir until a homogeneous paste forms.
- Line a loaf pan or gratin dish with softened banana leaves (or simply grease the mold). Pour in the mixture.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the top is golden and firm to the touch.
- Let cool slightly, unmold, and cut into thick slices. Serve warm or at room temperature, drizzled with a little coconut milk.
How it was made : Poe is an ancient Polynesian pudding prepared throughout the Society Islands. The binding starch came from pia (Tacca leontopetaloides, Polynesian arrowroot), cultivated well before European contact. Ceremonial versions used the ripest and sweetest fruits, reserved for offerings on the marae. Cooking was done in the ahima'a, wrapped in leaves.
The contemporary twist : Cut the poe into neat cubes, briefly torch the surface to caramelize, and skewer on bamboo sticks — a festive dessert that evokes tiki bars with the dignity of a marae.
Sources : Pollock, Nancy J. These Roots Remain: Food Habits in Islands of the Central and Eastern Pacific since Western Contact. University of Hawaii Press, 1992. · Oliver, Douglas L. Ancient Tahitian Society. University of Hawaii Press, 1974.
Tupaia · Charactorium
