Traditional cooking method mastered by sister chefs

Kasey and Karena Bird are showcasing hangi for the Flavours of Plenty Festival. Photo / Rebecca Mauger

It's hangi, but not as we know it.

In true master chef style, Karena and Kasey Bird are teaching hangi but with their own special twists and additions.

The Maketu sisters thought it would be ideal to showcase the traditional Māori underground cooking method for their Flavours of Plenty event in Te Puna because many still haven't tried it.

''I think for us it's a nice way to introduce people to hangi but also some of the food we're going to put in there is not traditional ... so it will be different even for those who know about it,'' Karena says.

The essence of a hangi — pork, beef, kumara and potato — remain, but with extra special touches, they say.

This includes garnishes and they may add a toasted coconut/sesame salad type of dish. They may put down marinated beef cheeks or cook mussels over the coals of the fire and make a vinaigrette out of it.

The pair are well travelled, even before hitting the big time on MasterChef New Zealand in 2014. They went around the world with their parents, who exposed them to all kinds of food culture.

They've taken inspiration from overseas underground cooking from South America, Fiji, Hawaii and New Caledonia.

Karena says each county is unique in its method.

''In Chile they put in a whole sack of shellfish onto the stones to create steam. Usually, we use wet sacks or wet the stones,'' she says.

In New Caledonia they use banana leaves and use entire chickens, with spring onions and coconut cream, and wrap it up like a parcel, Kasey says.

"They put in fish and even bacon bones ... they have seafood in there and we hadn't tried seafood in hangi before.''

Persimmon Lane in Te Puna is the venue for the hangi. Photo / Rebecca Mauger

Despite the twists and changes, the sisters still want the hangi to be generous and plentiful.

''Hangi makes people feel like they've had a big hug,'' Karena says.

The cooking method is usually for celebratory family events and the sisters think it's having a resurgence.

Kasey's husband Patuara is the hangi expert and will be giving a rundown of what a hangi is and the process.

The girls thanked Rose Chalmers at Persimmon Lane in Te Puna to allow the event to be run there.

''Finding somewhere where they'll let you dig a big hole in their backyard can be quite difficult,'' Karena says.

• Hangi with Karena and Kasey is on tomorrow at Persimmon Lane in Te Puna. It is sold out. To check other Flavours of Plenty Festival events go to www.flavoursofplentyfestival.com

Hangi makes people feel like they've had a big hug

Karena Bird