coconut and mango braised country ribs

Earlier this year I caught an interesting recipe on Mark Bittman’s blog for Coconut Braised Beef. It was a rather simple recipe using coconut milk to braise some cubed chuck.

Not long after discovering it I made it for dinner one night and it was good, but not great. Personally I’m not as much of a fan of braised beef as I am pork. I think it is a textural thing.

Deciding that I needed to try it again with pork, I also decided to add a little more of my style to the dish. I added mango to the mix, as well as some lemongrass. Also, to make the presentation more appealing (my wife loves color) I diced some mango, scallions red bell pepper to make it look festive.

The results of this experiment were phenomenal and, according to my wife, this vaulted to the top of her favorite things that I make. After nearly six years together and a lot of kitchen adventures I felt that was a rather impressive accomplishment.

Personally, I’m not much of a fan of a lot of sauce on my dishes, but the braising liquid reduction with pureed mango was very silky and would taste good on a car bumper.

The residual heat from the chili powder and sriracha added a nice, light bite. If you prefer your food more spicy, then I would recommend at least doubling what I used.

software

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 tablespoons ginger, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons sriracha sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 limes, zested and juiced
• 1/2 cup peanuts, crushed, 1/4 cup reserved
• 2 pounds boneless country pork ribs, cubed*
• 2 cans coconut milk, 1 can reserved
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 stalks lemongrass, roughly chopped
• 4 sprigs fresh cilantro
• 2 mangoes, 1 1/2 roughly chopped, 1/2 finely diced
  1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup agave nectar (or 1/3 cup brown sugar)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 bunch scallions, bias cut
• salt and pepper, to taste

assemblage

• In a medium size bowl combine the first eight ingredients to form a loose paste, then saute for two to three minutes on the stovetop
• Add the cubed pork and stir to combine until the meat is coated in the paste
• Pour the coconut milk and water into the pan and cook for two to three minutes before pouring the mixture into a slow cooker
• Add the lemongrass, cilantro sprigs and roughly chopped mango
• Cover and cook for about eight hours on low
• When the pork is finished, separate the solids from braising liquid, wrap the pork in aluminum foil and reserve the mango pieces
• Pour the strained braising liquid in a medium sauce pot and add the second can of coconut milk, orange juice, agave nectar (or brown sugar) and reduce by half
• Add the reserved mango pieces and hit it with the boat motor (immersion blender), or allow to cool then transfer to a regular blender
• If allowed to cool, return the reduction sauce back to the sauce pan and bring back to a simmer, otherwise, add braised pork into the reduction and stir to coat completely

presentation

I served this braised pork very simply with some brown and red basmati rice and a few garnishes. Plating it up consisted of putting the rice in the center of a shallow bowl, a serving of the pork, a healthy drizzle of the sauce, then topping it all off with the diced mango and red bell pepper, reserved crushed peanuts and scallions.

* I used bone in country ribs because I didn’t find any boneless that I cared for. You could also cube up a pork shoulder that you’ve trimmed of any excess fat.