Polynesian Pork Loin in Banana Leaves

January 10, 2015
Serve the pork with a the pineapple and a generous serving of the sauce. Accompany it with fresh lime wedges and the simple cucumber salad.

Serve the pork with the pineapple and a generous serving of the sauce. Accompany it with fresh lime wedges and this simple cucumber salad seen below.

Ingredients: Makes one whole pork loin cooked in two pieces 

1 whole Pork loin sliced in half crosswise
12 Bacon rashers
6 Banana leaves, whole
140 gr Pineapple slices

For the marinade:

1/2 cup Soya suace, light
1/2 cup Soya paste, Chinese (available from your Asian grocer)
1/2 cup Brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup Tomato paste
1 tbsp Sesame oil
1 tbsp Sambal oelek (available from your Asian grocer)
2 tbsp Sesame seeds
1 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
2 Cloves of garlic, minced
1 Piece of ginger, minced (about 1 tbsp)
1 Lime, juiced + lime wedges to serve

Tool:

BBQXL Bamboo Chopping Block and Stainless Steel Tray

Method:

Begin by preparing the marinade and allowing the pork to marinate in it for at least 12 hours, overnight will suffice. Laying several banana leaves on a hard, flat surface line them with bacon. This is where the traditional smokey flavour will come from. You can equally use a smoking box however, Not much of the smoke will penetrate through the leaves. Use only enough bacon to cover the bottom of your roast.

Begin by preparing the marinade and allowing the pork to marinate in it for at least 12 hours, overnight will suffice. Laying several banana leaves on a hard, flat surface line them with bacon. This is where the traditional smokey flavour will come from. You can equally use a smoking box however, not much of the smoke will penetrate through the leaves. Use only enough bacon to cover the bottom of your roast. You can also try using liquid smoke for a robust smokey flavour.

Once the meat is placed on the bacon and the leaves, line sliced pineapple along the top of the roast. For the next step, you may need an extra set of hands. Making sure that the pineapple stays right side up, fold the banana leaves over the pork and make sure that it’s as tight as possible and that there aren’t any cracks or you’ll lose the precious juices.

Then, using a heavy gauge aluminium foil, form a tight pocket around the leaves to keep them closed. Because we won't be using burlap and sand to hold everything together, the foil helps to keep everything intact while it cooks. Turn on one side of the barbecue to medium-high and on the opposite side of the place a baking tray upside down with the roast on top. This will mimic the contact from the rocks it would normal come into contact with in an Imu. (Don't use a cast-iron hotplate for this exercise as it won't get hot enough over indirect heat.).

Then, using a heavy gauge aluminium foil, form a tight pocket around the leaves to keep them closed. Because we won’t be using burlap and sand to hold everything together, the foil helps to keep everything intact while it cooks. Turn on one side of the barbecue to medium-high and on the opposite side of the grill place a baking tray upside down with the roast on top. This will mimic the contact from the rocks it would normally come into contact with in an Imu. (Don’t use a cast-iron hotplate for this exercise as it won’t get hot enough over indirect heat.) Close the hood of the barbie and let it cook over indirect medium-high heat for about 2 hours. Click here or on the image to view the BBQXL Stainless Steel Tray and Bamboo Chopping Board.

Once the two hours have elapsed, unwrap the pork loin to allow the juices to concentrate and caramelise and for the outside of the meat to brown-off.

Once the two hours have elapsed, unwrap the pork loin to allow the juices to concentrate and caramelise and for the outside of the meat to brown-off.

Only leave the roast on long enough to allow the outside to crisp up. If you leave it on too long unwrapped, you'll end-up drying out the meat and spoiling the work you went to!

Only leave the roast on long enough to allow the outside to crisp up. If you leave it on too long unwrapped, you’ll end-up drying out the meat and spoiling the work you went to!

As a side dish to the pork, try simply slicing cucumber finely, and mixing it with equal parts water and white vinegar. Season only with a touch of sugar, salt and finely sliced Thai chillies.

As a side dish to the pork, try simply slicing cucumber finely, and mixing it with equal parts water and white vinegar. Season only with a touch of sugar, salt and finely sliced Thai chillies. Enjoy!

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