Highlands Staple · Roasted Sweet Potato
Kaukau
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Highlanders grow dozens of named kaukau varieties, some prized and traded like a specialty crop rather than just a basic staple.
Kaukau, the Tok Pisin name for sweet potato, is roasted over coals or in ash and sold whole from market stalls in Mount Hagen and Goroka, split open and eaten plain or with a pinch of salt.
Why it's made this way: Sweet potato has been the dominant highlands staple for centuries, so central to the local diet and economy that entire ceremonies and pig-feast preparations are built around it — mumu itself is usually loaded with kaukau.
Roughly what's in it
180kcal
3gprotein
41gcarbs
0gfat
Estimated per typical street-vendor portion — not lab-tested.
More from Papua New Guinea
Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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