Lūʻau, Luʻau, Laulau, Lū, Rourou, Rukau, Fāfā, Hāhā, and Palusami are all related dishes found throughout Polynesia based on the use of taro leaves as a primary ingredient.

Believed to be native to India and Southeast Asia, taro were carried into the Pacific Islands by Austronesian peoples from around 1300 BC, where they became a staple crop of Polynesians.

When the Western navigators arrived, they introduced foods like onions, tomatoes, corned meats and various spices.

[13] Colonialism brought with them something that would change Polynesian diets—canned goods, including the highly prized corned beef.

[15] Since earthenware was not known throughout ancient Polynesia, stews were often steamed in calabash bowls or coconut shells but were not efficient conductors of heat.

[17] Taro leaves contain calcium oxalate, which in its raw form can cause serious irritation to the mouth and throat if not cooked thoroughly.

Taro leaves (whole or shredded) are typically added to the stewing liquid of coconut milk without parboiling.

The stew is often served with cassava (boiled or fried into chips), or with roti in a manner similar to saag by way of Indo-Fijians.

Another wacipoki technique is forming them into patties with a mixture of chopped parboiled taro leaves, onions, and seasonings that are pan-fried, and simmered in a coconut milk sauce.

[27][28] Because of the rising prices of taro (and food in general), instant noodles is sometimes mixed into the wacipoki as a filler.

Influenced by French cuisine, contemporary recipes often feature the chicken as the primary ingredient, while the taro leaves stewed in coconut milk acts as a sauce.

The leaves are parboiled, strained, chopped, and combined with the cooked (fresh) meat—octopus ("squid"), chicken, beef, or pork—that are sautéed with onions.

Whole mature larger (and younger) taro leaves wrap around large cubes of pork shoulder or belly, beef, or chicken thighs.

Unlike its Polynesian variations, this dish does not contain any coconut milk or aromatics like onions or garlic, or other spices.

However, similar dishes like Samoan palusami that are made in Hawaii sometimes use the vernacular laulau when speaking with a non-Samoan person.

Dishes can be cooked stovetop in a steamer or baked in an oven, or in pressure cookers and crock pots in temperature-controlled setting.

And where ti or banana leaves cannot be found, aluminium foil, parchment paper, and corn husk are used.