This is a full-flavored, weeknight summer dish. I served it with sautéed Napa cabbage, grilled radicchio, grilled fennel, and brown Basmati rice on the side. We squeezed fresh lime juice over the grilled meat, but next time I may also serve it with a garlicky lime-yogurt sauce.
This recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by Melissa Clark. I used cubed pork tenderloin instead of pork shoulder and modified the proportions.
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
- 1 ¾ pounds boneless pork shoulder OR 2 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
- Kosher salt
- 1 lime, plus some wedges for serving
- ¼ cup cilantro or basil, leaves and tender stems, plus more for serving
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 1 jalapeño or other green chile, seeded if desired (I used an unseeded Serrano chile)
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 ½ tablespoons fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 small red onion, sliced, for serving
- Season pork lightly with kosher salt and put it in a bowl or resealable bag.
- Juice the lime into a blender or food processor and add cilantro, fish sauce, garlic, chile and honey. Blend until the chile and garlic are puréed, then add fennel, cumin, coriander seeds and pulse four or five times to bruise the spices and mix them in.
- Pour mixture over the pork, tossing to coat the pieces. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes while you heat the grill, or up to 24 hours.
- When ready to cook, heat the grill or broiler with a rack positioned 4 inches from the heat source.
- Thread the pork onto skewers, leaving a little space between cubes. Grill over the highest heat possible, or broil on high, for 2 to 5 minutes, then flip the skewers and continue cooking until the meat is browned all over and charred in spots. It should be just cooked through: A little pink is OK, but there shouldn’t be any red spots.
- Serve the pork with cilantro sprigs and onion slices on top, and lime wedges on the side for squeezing.
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