Thursday Tiki Tacos Recipe

Prepare marinade and marinate

In a medium bowl whisk together orange juice, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, minced garlic, grated ginger, ground cumin, salt and black pepper until sugar dissolves. Place pork pieces in a resealable bag or shallow dish and pour marinade over pork, turning to coat. Seal and refrigerate at least 1 hour, ideally 3–4 hours (up to overnight) to allow flavors to penetrate.

Cook pork

Remove pork from marinade, pat dry with paper towels (reserve marinade). Heat a large skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat and add vegetable oil. Sear pork pieces in batches in a single layer until well-browned, about 3–4 minutes per side. Reduce heat to medium and add 1/4 cup reserved marinade to the pan; cover and cook until pork is cooked through and tender, about 6–8 minutes more (internal temp 145–160°F depending on desired doneness). Remove pork to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes, then chop or shred into bite-sized pieces.

Combine diced pineapple, red bell pepper, red onion, chopped cilantro and minced jalapeño in a bowl. Add lime juice, rice vinegar and salt; stir gently to combine. Taste and adjust with additional lime or salt as needed. Chill at least 15 minutes to marry flavors.

In a small bowl whisk together coconut milk, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), lime zest, lime juice, honey and salt until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use. If too thin, chill to thicken or whisk in 1–2 tsp of Greek yogurt to adjust texture.

Warm corn tortillas on a dry skillet over medium heat for about 20–30 seconds per side or wrap in foil and heat in a 300°F oven for 10 minutes. Keep covered to stay warm.

To assemble each taco: place a small handful (about 2–3 tbs) of shredded cabbage on the tortilla, add 2–3 tbs of the chopped/seared pork, spoon 1–2 tbs of pineapple salsa over the pork, drizzle about 1 tsp of coconut crema, and top with cilantro leaves. Add pickled red onion if using and a squeeze of lime wedge.

Serve immediately while warm. Leftover components keep separately refrigerated up to 3 days; reheat pork gently and re-warm tortillas before serving.