Arima - a city in the northern part of Trinidad.
This recipe serves 4 people.
Tender, smokey, tasty, spicey- Pepper Pork! I must admit- I do not eat much pork but I can never say no to this trini treat. This recipe is combining delicious pepper pork in tacos with a mango salsa. Basically, a fusion between Mexico and Trinidad. If you don’t like pork, you can also do this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken thighs or even with tofu for a vegan option. You will need tortillas for this recipe. Purchase them in your local supermarket at the international/ Spanish section or order fresh tortillas from thetortillaguy.de. I also recommend adding a great hot sauce. My favorite is Simon’s Bajan style Hot sauce (you can order it through Instagram). My Arima Tacos sound and taste heavenly and they are easy to recreate.
Ingredients:
For the pepper pork:
700g pork preferably neck or shoulder (with nice marbling)
4 cloves garlic, grated
2 tbsp ginger, grated
4 tbsp Soy sauce
Black pepper
1 tbsp green seasoning
Hot sauce (to taste) Scotch bonnet pepper (to taste)
1 onion, sliced
2tbsp olive oil
For the tacos:
18-20 corn tortillas
2-3 baby Pak choi
1 medium sized bell pepper
3 large & ripe mangos
A handful of fresh cilantro/coriander
1 tbsp green seasoning
Salt Pepper
1 lime
1 tsp olive oil
1. The Prep Work
Clean and wash your pork with lime/vinegar and rinse well. Place it in a bowl and combine soy sauce, green seasoning, grated garlic, and ginger and rub it into your pork. Let your meat marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight. Slice your onions in fine strips and clean your Pak choi. Set your vegetables aside. For your mango salsa cut up the mango and the bell pepper in small cubes and place it all in a bowl. Add in 1 tsp of olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh cilantro, and 1 tsp of green seasoning. Mix in very well and let it marinate in the fridge. The longer it marinates, the better the flavors will develop.
2. The Pepper Pork
Once your pork is marinated you will need to roast it. You can either do this in your oven or on your grill. I roasted mine in the oven on 200°C for about 40 minutes. The cooking time depends on how thick of a cut your meat is. Once it is all the way cooked through, leave the pork to rest until it has room temperature. Then cut it against the grain in small, thick chunks. Heat a frying pan with some olive oil on a high-medium heat and add in your pork. You want to get a nice caramelization on the meat. Finely dice some scotch bonnet and add it alongside with your hot sauce and your onions to the pan. Taste for salt and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Now once all the flavors are well combined and you have some nice caramelized and crispy bits on your pork, set it aside until you put your tacos together.
3. The Tacos
Spread your tacos out on a plate and add a few leaves of Pak Choi. The fresh and crunchy texture really compliments the spicy pepper pork. Now add in some of the meat chunks and scoop some mango salsa on top. The sweetness of the mango really lifts the entire dish. Serve with some fresh lime and additional hot sauce.
4. Enjoy!