At the foot of Hanalei’s misty green mountains lie fields of one of the most beautiful crops anywhere: taro. These heart-shaped plants grow intensely green in their flooded patches. Endangered Hawaiian birds find refuge among the gently waving stems. Look down on this emerald quilt of land from the Hanalei Valley Lookout and maybe you’ll even see farmers doing the muddy work of harvest.
Many restaurants in Hanalei serve delicious taro dishes. The leaves (sometimes called luau leaf) are similar in taste to spinach, while the corm, or underground stem, is cooked like a potato. The corm is also pounded into poi, the Hawaiian staple starch.
