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Pineapple and cashew rice salad with hula pork and roast peppers
Serves: 6
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
Recipe by Katie and Giancarlo CaldesiRecipe photograph by Helen Cathcart
Pineapple and cashew rice salad with hula pork and roast peppers
Serves: 6
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time:
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
800Kcal
Fat
30gr
Saturates
11gr
Carbs
67gr
Sugars
27gr
Fibre
5gr
Protein
62gr
Salt
4.5gr
Katie Caldesi
Katie Caldesi is a food writer who cooks up regional Italian food with her husband Giancarlo at their London bar and restaurant Caffè Caldesi, cookery school La Cucina Caldesi and Bray restaurant Caldesi in Campagna.
Katie Caldesi
Katie Caldesi is a food writer who cooks up regional Italian food with her husband Giancarlo at their London bar and restaurant Caffè Caldesi, cookery school La Cucina Caldesi and Bray restaurant Caldesi in Campagna.
Ingredients
For the pork
- 500ml pineapple juice
- 2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
- 150ml soy sauce or tamari
- 150ml tomato ketchup
- 4 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1-2 tbsp sriracha chilli sauce, to taste
- 1.5-1.8kg boneless pork shoulder joint
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into 8 long strips
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
For the pineapple and cashew rice salad
- 100g cashews, soaked in cold water for at least 30 minutes or overnight
- 300g brown rice
- 4 cardamom pods, split open
- 25g desiccated coconut or coconut flakes
- 300g fresh pineapple, peeled and cut into ½cm thick slices
- 2 tbsp coconut or extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 spring onions, diagonally sliced into 2cm lengths
- a handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped, to serve
- a handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped, to serve
Step by step
Get ahead
Soak the cashews in cold water overnight. You can cook the pork and pepper in advance and reheat – place the pulled pork in an ovenproof dish with a little of the sauce and the pepper, cover with foil and reheat at the same temperature for 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Mix the pineapple juice, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar and sriracha; season. If the shoulder is in a roll, untie it. Put it into a large casserole, pour over the sauce, making sure it goes in every crevice. Put on the lid; cook in the oven for 3-4 hours, or until tender.
- Meanwhile, put the cashews in water to soak, if not already soaked overnight. About 30 minutes before the end of the pork's cooking time, pop the pepper strips on a tray, splash with oil; season. Cook until lightly browned.
- Cook the rice with the cardamom and 1 teaspoon salt, following the packet instructions. Drain and set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, drain the cashews, pat dry and toast with the coconut, separately (the coconut is quicker to cook), on a baking tray in the oven while the pork is cooking until lightly browned. Keep an eye on them as they burn easily and will be done in 3-5 minutes.
- Toast the pineapple under a hot grill on each side until lightly charred, about 7–10 minutes; set aside to cool. Cut into bite-sized pieces; discard the core. Heat the oil in a small frying pan and cook the spring onions for 5–7 minutes until softened; set aside to cool.
- Remove the pork from the oven; transfer it to a board. Pour the sauce into a jug. Use two forks to 'pull' the meat into shreds. As soon as all the ingredients for the rice salad are at room temperature, mix them with the herbs; season. Serve straight away with the pulled pork, pepper and the warm sauce in a jug.
- Alternatively, cover the salad and chill in the fridge for up to 1 day. Let it come to room temperature before serving with the pork and peppers; warm the sauce to serve.
Chef quote
This is a family favourite. The meat is cooked until it falls apart then pulled and served with a fruity, crunchy rice salad that needs only a splash of olive oil.