Meleanna Aluli Meyer remembers clearly the day she first ate luau stew.

“It was in Nanakuli at a potluck and I tasted it and said, ‘Whose dish is this? That is soooooo ono,’ she recalled. “Perhaps it was the place, the fabulous beach air or because I was hungry, but I loved the tasty combination of stew meat, luau (taro leaves) and coconut milk.”

Meyer’s version of the dish, also known as beef luau, is hearty with large pieces of luau, unlike the almost disintegrated versions typical of restaurant-bought squid luau. What makes it even heartier are chunks of taro or sweet potato that add taste and texture. The coconut flavor is sweet, a perfect contrast to the luau and onions. The meat is fork tender.

The artist, arts teacher and filmmaker frequently cooks luau stew at her Makiki home. She starts with stew meat — she prefers the more marbled chuck to leaner cuts.

Her recipe calls for 1 or 2 pounds of fresh luau. Find this in mainstream supermarkets, usually sold in plastic bags. Use 2 pounds of leaves if you prefer more luau.

After washing the leaves, she trims the end of the stem and pinches off the pointed tip of the leaf. Others discard the stems, but Meyer likes to include them. She learned to pinch off the tips from watching the Aluli aunties, but she admits she doesn’t know why. “Maybe it’s a superstition or is supposed to reduce the itchy quality of the leaves,” she said.

Before starting the stew, she boils a whole corm of taro until tender. When taro is unavailable, she substitutes sweet potatoes, which cook faster.

When it’s time to start the stew, she browns the meat chunks in oil then adds thin wedges of onion, cooked until caramelized. Seasonings and leaves are added and cooked for at least a couple of hours. Like taro, leaves must be cooked thoroughly — if they aren’t, they can leave an itchy feeling in your throat.

Once the taro is cooked, it is peeled and sliced into cubes before being added to the stew. The taro will be a natural thickener, and some of the cubes will remain in chunks. Folks who like a soupier stew can adjust the consistency with beef broth and water.

This “artist in the kitchen” prefers her luau stew over rice, but many enjoy it with poi. Either way, “it’s the best comfort food,” Meyer said.

Shortcuts, variations

>> Use paiai, a harder version of cooked taro.

>> Use taro cakes sold at Chinese restaurants and cut into cubes.

>> Use frozen precooked luau (the taste will differ from fresh leaves).

>> For a vegetarian version, omit the beef; use cooked taro, sweet potatoes or breadfruit; and use vegetable broth instead of beef.

Luau Stew (Beef Luau)

• 1 pound taro or sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 pound beef stew meat (chuck preferred), cut in 1-inch cubes
• 1 large onion, cut in thin wedges
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can beef broth, divided
• 1 to 2 pounds luau leaves (taro leaves), washed
• 1 teaspoon Hawaiian salt
• 1/2 teaspoon shoyu
• 1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk

In pot, place taro or sweet potatoes, cover with water and cook until tender, about 1 hour for sweet potatoes and 2 hours for taro.

Meanwhile, in large pot on high, add oil and brown meat until all sides are seared, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add onions. Simmer until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add water and half of broth.

Pick off the pointed tips of the luau leaves. Cut off 1/2-inch of the stalk ends and cut into roughly 4 pieces. Add leaves, salt and shoyu to pot, cover and cook on low to medium for at least 2-1/2 hours.

Stir every half-hour; after 1 hour, add coconut milk.

Peel and cut cooked kalo or sweet potato into 1/2-inch cubes. Add during last half-hour of cooking. Add remainder of beef broth and additional water if you like it to be the consistency of soup. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve hot with rice or poi. Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (using taro): 590 calories, 34 g total fat, 21 g saturated fat, 75 mg cholesterol, 1,100 mg sodium, 42 g carbohydrate, 10 g fiber, 7 g sugar, 37 g protein.

Lynette Lo Tom, author of “The Chinese Kitchen,” is fascinated by old-fashioned foods. Contact her at 275-3004 or via Instagram at brightlightcookery. Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.