Coconut-lemongrass Baked Pork
Baked meat dishes like this one eliminate the need to make a gravy or sauce to accompany the meat. With this recipe, the sauce can be served as is with the curds from the coconut milk or it can be strained or pureed in a blender to emulsify, becoming and a smooth, creamy, highly flavourful sauce.
For the flavour of this dish to come through, an overnight marinade is recommended. Canned coconut milk can be used; if you prefer to use fresh coconut milk, make a thick milk by blending 1 cup of grated coconut with 1 cup lukewarm or warm water and pass the mixture through a sieve. Be sure to squeeze out the extra milk.
The part of the lemongrass used for the marinade is the stalk, not the long shaft-like green leaves. I’ll tell you what to do and how many stalks of lemongrass you will need.
DIRECTIONS
1. Blend/grind together the following ingredients to make a paste – onions, garlic, thyme, pepper and lemongrass stalk using a little of the coconut milk to help grind/blend the paste. Season with salt to taste – do not be shy, this is the only salt seasoning for the dish.
2. Add the coconut milk to the seasoning and pulse a few times to mix. Taste for salt and adjust if necessary.
3. Add the pork to a bowl or dish with a cover or a 2-gallon zip bag; pour all of the marinade over the meat and toss to coat. Cover or seal tightly and refrigerate overnight.
4. Bring the meat up to room temperature before cooking.
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7.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
6. Add the meat to a deep baking dish as well as the marinade. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 2 hours. At the end of that time, remove the foil, turn the heat to 400 and cook for 1 hour or until a fork inserts easily into the meat and the top is lightly brown. To get the meat darker, place under a broiler for a few minutes.
Let the meat rest for 20 – 30 minutes before serving.
Note for lemongrass
• Chop off the leaves of the stalk and reserve for tea or other use. Remove the outer fibrous layers at the bottom of each stalk until you get to the tender part (you will need to remove about 4 – 6 layers). Repeat and roughly chop the lemongrass to the specified amount stated in the recipe. This is one of my favourite ways to cook shrimp and it is always a crowd pleaser.