Polynesian Orange Ginger Pork and Coconut Milk

One of my favorite Polynesian Cookbooks had a recipe for orange ginger chicken or Pork. I have changed the recipe a lot and added my own touches. Now, you have it. The perfected recipe that I adore. It is a wonderful base for Hawaiian Haystacks (a classic for church pot-lucks and banquets). Last summer when I cooked for my church's summer camp, this is the recipe I used...but we made a lot more of it! We pulled the meat apart and added it to a white sauce. It was awesome. If you do add it to milk based sauce, be sure to add a tsp of baking soda. The soda will neutralize the acid in the orange juice that would otherwise make the sauce curdle. This is how the soup companies make cream of tomato soup too! I hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as I do! If you want to make this into a freezer meal, simply divide the finished pork between 4 quart size freezer bags, remove air. At service, defrost the meat, add the spinach, bell pepper, oranges, and coconut milk.
Ka'u Orange Ginger Pork (yield 16 servings)
6 lbs lean pork, boneless and cut into 1 inch cubes (or boneless skinless chicken thigh meat)
1 c. orange juice concentrate
zest of 1 orange
2T sesame oil
1/4 cup fresh ginger root, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup Dijon mustard.
Combine them all and cook in a 8 quart crock pot 5-6 hours low (or solar oven 3-4 hours)
When cooked, drain excess fat.


Add and cook 15 more minutes:
2 cups chopped spinach
1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped (optional)
2 cups coconut milk (approx one can I use the light variety!)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 10 oz can mandarin oranges, well drained.

Scoop and serve over cooked Jasmine rice. I use brown rice. Portion the rice. 1 cup is 2 servings of bread or carbohydrates.

Note: This recipe is excellent cooked in the solar oven! Give it a try!

Nutritional info:
6 ounces pork plus vegetables: 401 calories
Total fat: 13 grams (if you use lean pork and light coconut milk)
Carbs: 9 grams
With 1/2 cup cooked brown rice:
Add 108 calories
Add 1 gram fat
Add 22 carbs.