Fast Recipes

Pork skewers with young coconut and pineapple salad

Grilled pork, a fresh pineapple salad – a match made in heaven.

By Emma Knowles
  • Serves 4
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Pork skewers with young coconut and pineapple salad

Ingredients

  • 50 gm palm sugar, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander root and stem
  • 3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tsp white peppercorns
  • 1½ tbsp fish sauce
  • 1½ tbsp soy sauce
  • 1½ tbsp lime juice
  • 800 gm skinless pork shoulder, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 100 ml coconut milk
  • To serve: lime halves
Young coconut and pineapple salad
  • 500 gm slightly underripe pineapple, peeled and cut into chunks
  • Flesh from 1 young coconut, torn (reserve water for another use)
  • ½ cup (loosely packed) coriander
  • ½ cup (loosely packed) mint
  • 2 small red shallots, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp palm sugar
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp roasted chilli flakes, or to taste

Method

Main
  • 1
    Heat a barbecue or char-grill pan to medium. Pound palm sugar, coriander, garlic and peppercorns with a mortar and pestle to a paste, then stir in fish sauce, soy sauce and lime juice. Place in a bowl with pork, mix to coat and allow to marinate while you make the salad (when you have more time, marinate overnight for deeper flavour).
  • 2
    For salad, combine pineapple, coconut, herbs and shallot in a bowl. Stir palm sugar in 1 tbsp hot water in a separate bowl until dissolved, add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Adjust the balance of flavours so dressing is sour, sweet, salty and hot. Just before serving, drizzle dressing over pineapple mixture and toss to combine.
  • 3
    Thread pork onto skewers and grill, brushing with coconut milk and turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through (5-7 minutes). Serve skewers hot with coconut and pineapple salad and lime halves.