Grilled Pork Skewers With Peanut-Basil Sauce

By Mark Bittman

Updated May 3, 2017

  • Evan Sung for The New York Times
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Total Time
8 minutes
Rating
5(380)
Comments
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Peanut butter is more than just a sandwich spread, or a perfect accompaniment to chocolate. It can also substitute for tahini or be a worthy addition to certain meats. Here, it serves as the basis of a dipping sauce and marinade, a counterbalance to smoky pork skewers. A great warm-weather dinner, it's ready in minutes, on the grill pan, the grill, or even the broiler.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

  • 20 to 30 fresh basil leaves

  • ½ cup peanut butter, preferably chunky

  • ¾ cup coconut milk

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce, more to taste

  • 1 clove garlic, peeled

  • 1 inchlong piece of ginger, peeled

  • ½ teaspoon red chili flakes

  • Juice of 1 lime, plus lime wedges for garnish

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

  • 1 pound boneless pork shoulder or loin

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)

8 grams carbs; 54 milligrams cholesterol; 373 calories; 12 grams monosaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 31 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 350 milligrams sodium; 19 grams protein; 3 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a blender, combine all ingredients except pork and process until you have a smooth paste. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed: mixture should be salty, spicy and hot. Set about ½ cup of marinade aside to use as dipping sauce.

  2. Step 2

    Slice pork into 1-inch cubes and toss with rest of marinade until it is all well coated. Thread meat onto skewers, without crowding.

  3. Step 3

    Heat a grill, grill pan or broiler until quite hot; cook pork until brown all over, turning once, about 5 to 8 minutes total. Serve with reserved dipping sauce and garnish with lime wedges.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
380 user ratings
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Comments

Lester

Eight minutes to prepare? It takes me longer to wash my hands and get out the ingredients. Please be honest with prep times.

Margaux Laskey, Staff Editor

Mark Bittman doesn't believe you need to marinate meat for a long period of time to get good results (he doesn't view marinades as tenderizers, but as flavor-enhancers). You certainly can let it sit for a bit, but it's not necessary.

Dan Urbach

Suggestion to save clean-up time: don't put the peanut butter in the blender. Put in the basil and liquid(s) and blend, then put in bowl and mix in peanut butter by hand. Blender cleaning much quicker this way.

Julia

made this with thai spicy pork salad (instead of that pork, i made this pork). REALLY GREAT. subbed out the dressing for that salad with the rest of the marinade for this pork. super light, flavorful. added fish sauce, more lime, & (don’t judge me) salsa verde from a taco truck to pork marinade.

Dan Urbach

This is really good peanut sauce. Much better than I've had from any restaurant.

MSR

Stuck to the grill. Be sure to oil the grates well before cooking

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