Ginger Lime Pork with Coconut Rice
This Ginger Lime Pork with Coconut Rice recipe comes together in just 30 minutes and is bursting with sweet and savory flavors.
- 1 batch coconut rice*
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 scallions (thinly sliced (white and green parts separated))
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons minced or grated fresh ginger
- 1 1/2 pounds ground pork
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon sriracha (or more/less to taste)
- fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- toppings: chopped peanuts (extra lime wedges, chopped fresh herbs (cilantro, mint, and/or Thai basil))
- Cook the coconut rice. Prepare the coconut rice as directed.
- Sauté. While the rice is cooking, heat the oil over high heat in a large sauté pan. Add the white parts of the scallions, garlic, ginger and sauté for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add the pork and use a wooden spoon to stir and break it up as it cooks.
- Add the sauce. Once the pork is no longer pink, add in the brown sugar, lime juice, sriracha and stir until evenly combined. Let the pork continue to cook, undisturbed, for 2 minutes or until it caramelizes on the bottom. Stir, then let the pork cook undisturbed for 1-2 more minutes or until it caramelizes on the bottom.
- Season. Taste and season with salt and pepper and/or extra sriracha as needed.
- Serve. Serve warm over the coconut rice, garnished with your desired toppings. Enjoy!
New favorite 30-minute meal alert! .
This is definitely one of those recipes that cooks up to be so much more than the sum of its parts, thanks to a few extra minutes in the skillet that magically help to caramelize the ginger-lime sauce with the pork. It’s a simple trick that yields the most irresistible sticky texture and flavor. And I’m certain you are going to love it!
All you need is a pound of ground pork (or ground chicken, beef, turkey, seitan — you choose!), which will then be sautéed until caramelized with a simple mix of scallions, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, lime juice and sriracha. Then sprinkle on your choice of toppings, such crushed peanuts, scallions, and/or fresh herbs (mint, cilantro or Thai basil are all great options). Serve over my favorite coconut rice, which pairs perfectly with all of that ginger and lime. And enjoy, enjoy.
I’ve been making this dish on repeat these past few months whenever I’m craving a quick hit of protein for dinner, usually with a side of veggies or a simple green salad, and it always hits the spot. So if you’re looking for a simple new recipe to add to your rotation, I hope you’ll give it a try soon!
Ginger Lime Pork Ingredients
Here are a few quick notes about the ginger lime pork ingredients that you will need to make this recipe:
Coconut rice: Made easily with jasmine rice (or another long-grain white rice), coconut milk, fine sea salt and a hint of sugar.
Ground pork: I typically use ground pork as the base for this recipe, but you can also sub in ground chicken, turkey or beef if you prefer.
Scallions: We will thinly slice the scallions, then sauté the white parts with the pork and use the green parts as a garnish.
Ginger: It’s best to use fresh ginger in this recipe, which you can either grate or finely mince.
Lime juice: We will add some lime juice to the sauté itself, but then I highly recommend serving this dish with a few lime wedges on the side too.
Garlic: I love adding lots of fresh garlic to this dish, which you can either press or mince.
Light brown sugar: We will add in some light brown sugar to help the pork become perfectly caramelized and sticky.
Hot sauce: I like adding in some Sriracha to give this dish a bit of heat, but you could also add some diced fresh chiles (such as jalapeño peppers or Thai bird chiles) or crushed red pepper flakes to the sauté. Or you could omit the extra heat entirely.
Salt and pepper: Fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper as always, for seasoning.
Toppings: The more, the merrier! I highly recommend chopped peanuts, extra lime wedges, and chopped fresh herbs (cilantro, mint, and/or Thai basil).
