Carne de Porco com Ananás by Macau Kitchen
Macao News > Food & Drink > Carne de Porco com Ananás by Macau Kitchen

Carne de Porco com Ananás by Macau Kitchen

This dish is a "good example of the Portuguese spice trade in Asia", says Mozambique-born Portuguese chef Kei de Freitas, who serves it to hungry diners at his lauded Edinburgh restaurant.

Porco Com Ananas Recipe
Porco Bafassá - Photo courtesy of Macau Kitchen
By Gilbert Humphrey
By Gilbert Humphrey
  • 4
    Serves
  • 15mins
    Prep time
  • 80mins
    Cooking time

Ingredients:

  • 1 kg pork cut into 1 cm cubes
  • 1 fresh pineapple cut into 1 cm cubes
  • 1 tbsp lard or 3 tbsp oil
  • 1 tbsp balichão
  • 2 sliced onions
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tsp palm sugar or yellow sugar
  • Salt to taste
  • Pepper or chilli to taste
  • 1.5 L hot water

This dish is of Portuguese origin, but it unites some classically Asian, sweet and savoury flavours, as well as balichão, a salty shrimp sauce or paste used in a number of Macanese and other Portuguese creole cuisines. 

This recipe for carne de porco com ananás (pork meat with pineapple) is a “good example of the Portuguese spice trade in Asia”, says Mozambique-born Portuguese chef Kei de Freitas, owner and head chef of Scotland’s Macau Kitchen. With such vibrant flavours, it’s little wonder this dish is one of the most popular on the Edinburgh-based restaurant’s menu. 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the lard or cooking oil in a frying pan.
2. Sauté the onions, garlic, pepper or chilli and balichão for 5 minutes.
3. Add the cubed pork and stir for 2 minutes, then add the sugar and continue stirring for another minute.
4. Add hot water and cook for around 60 minutes on medium heat, until the water is reduced to a sauce.
5. When there are about 5 minutes remaining, add the pineapple cubes.
6. The dish is ready to be served on a deep plate.

Important note: Freitas says that while yellow sugar can be used as a replacement, palm sugar yields the best taste. He adds that this dish is best served with rice.