A little something I whipped up the other night and I can claim this one as my own.  I was stuck for ideas (happens often so any suggestions would be great) and thought a trip to the supermarket might inspire me.  Pork fillets were on special (yippee) so that started a shopping trip in a trance like state while my mind conjured up images of sticky Asian inspired pork and a crunchy, creamy, punchy sambal that only used a smidge of coconut milk.  What to do with the remaining coconut milk?  Coconut rice of course!

 

Prep time:  25  Minutes        Cooking time:  35  Minutes (+30 Minutes marinating time)        $$  Low to Medium Budget

 

Ps.  You could make the marinade in the morning and leave the pork in the fridge to infuse with all of those gorgeous flavours for the day. Otherwise leave them for 30 minutes or if you are in a screaming hurry, cook them straight away.  Whatever suits!

 

Serves 4

 

800gm of pork fillet

1 tbs of peanut oil (vegetable is fine if you have allergies)

2 tbs of rendang curry paste  (I use Ayam brand)

Juice of 1 lime

2 tbs of honey

1 tbs of Kecap Manis

Coriander sprigs for garnish

 

For the Sambal:

 

2/3 bunch of coriander, roughly chopped (use the remaining 1/3 for garnish)

1/4 cup of roughly chopped macadamia nuts (approximately 8 whole ones)

Juice of 1 lime

1 green chilli, roughly chopped (seeds removed if you like it less spicy)

1 tbs of finely grated ginger

1 tsp of caster sugar

1/2 cup of shredded coconut, toasted*

100ml of coconut milk

 

For the Coconut Rice:

 

1 cup of Jasmine rice

300ml of coconut milk

100ml of water

Sea salt and cracked pepper

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

 

In a shallow dish combine the Rendang paste, peanut oil, lime juice, honey and kecap manis.  Place the pork fillets in the dish and rub them all over with your hands or a spoon so that they are completely covered in the marinade.  Set aside for 30 minutes.

 

Place the coriander, macadamias, green chilli, lime juice and sugar in a food processor and blitz until you have a pesto like consistency.  Transfer to a bowl and add the coconut milk and toasted coconut.  Stir to combine and pop in the fridge while you cook the rice and pork.

 

Place the pork fillets on a baking tray lined with baking paper (saves washing up) and spoon over half of the remaining marinade.  Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillet, turn over and baste the other side and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until the pork is cooked through.  You want the fillets to be nice and moist so don’t overcook.  Slice one in the thickest part to the middle if you are unsure.

 

Place the rice in a saucepan with the coconut milk and water and bring to the boil.  Once boiling reduce to a simmer and cover with a tight fitting lid.  Simmer for 12 minutes and then remove the rice from the heat and allow to rest for approximately 5 minutes.  Don’t lift the lid as this is when the rice steams, leaving you with gorgeous fluffy rice.  Once rested, remove the lid and season generously with salt and pepper and fluff with a fork.

 

Remove the pork fillets from the oven and allow to rest for a few minutes.  Slice them in 1.5cm slices on the diagonal for nice presentation.  Divide the rice among serving plates and top with the pork slices.  Spoon over any remaining marinade and top with a generous dollop of the sambal.  Garnish with coriander sprigs and serve with steamed Asian greens.

 

* To toast the coconut heat a dry frypan and add the coconut.  Watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn and swirl it around periodically as it only takes a matter of minutes.  Remove from the heat when golden and transfer quickly to a bowl.  The coconut will continue to cook from the residual heat in the pan if it is not removed.