So he can make Rory Parker's famous lychee-infused pulled pork!

 

 

Lychee season is in full swing on Kauai these days. Discarded husks and pits litter the streets of Kapaa, burn-out chronic wastes of air peddle bags of purloined fruit on the side of every road.

But, damn, are these things tasty.

Sweet, juicy, with just a tiny hint of tart. You can only stuff so many down your gullet before you get sick of them though, so when your tree starts dumping 100 pounds of the little red treats you need to find other ways to make them a meal.

My favorite thing to do with them is make pulled pork. You’d expect the lychee to dissolve and flavor the meat, what happens instead is the pork infuses the fruit, leaving you with hot sweet salty savory little pork nuggets, a perfect companion to a greasy pig feast.

Rory’s Hawaiexicasian pulled pork with swine infused lychee

Ingredients:

4 lbs pork shoulder or butt

12 or more fresh lychee- pitted and halved

2 small sweet onions

5 garlic cloves

2 Tbsp alaea salt

1 Tbsp black pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

1 large Jalapeno

1 Tbsp chopped ginger

¼ cup rice vinegar

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp spicy Chinese mustard powder (mix with a little water to form a paste.)

2 Tbsp brown sugar

3 Tbsp sesame oil

Halve and quarter onions, put on bottom of pot. Peel garlic, slice three cloves lengthwise. Using paring knife, stab pork and insert garlic, put on top of onions. Slather pork in mustard paste, then  cover pork with lychee. Don’t allow lychee to fall into bottom of cooker.

In one bowl, combine:

1 Tbsp Alaea salt (can substitute kosher salt)

1 Tbsp pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

1 Large jalapeño – sliced (more if you want it spicier)

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 Tbsp diced ginger

In another bowl combine:

¼ cup rice vinegar

3 Tbsp sesame oil

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp brown sugar

Whisk ingredients of bowl #2 together, then pour over bowl #1 and stir together.

Pour over slowly over meat, taking care that the lychee stay don’t fall into bottom of cooker.

Then sprinkle with one more tablespoon of alaea salt

Cook for six hours on high