There are certain words that I instantly associate with guava, warm, tropical, sunshine.  The fruit itself, as well as Bundaberg’s Guava brewed soft drink, tends to transport me mentally on a tropical holiday. 

I am transported to lazy days on the beach and luscious tropical fruit salads.  It really can’t be helped, as the smell of guava alone is a very tropical one.  The flavour goes so well with pineapple, coconut and lime.  In fact guava pairs well with a whole range of tropical fruits.

Even though guava is grown in many warm climates, did you know that the guava is native to Mexico and South America?  Where not only do they eat the fruit, but will use the leaves for cooking on barbeques.  The Hawaiians also use the wood from the plant to smoke food.

It would be very easy for me to suggest a fruit salad with your Bundaberg Guava brew, but I’m not going to do that.  Of course please feel free to enjoy a fruit salad with it, but coconut milk poached fish with pawpaw and lime would go exceptionally well.  Heading back to the barbeque, marinated chicken wrapped in banana leaves would also be a suitably fun dish to pair.

I wanted to come up with a food pairing that would take into consideration not only the perfect flavour matches, also where guava originates and places we associate with the fruit.  This lead me to these pickled pork tacos.

In this case I bake the pickled pork with a spicy rub.  Being pickled the pork is slightly salty, and the spice rub gives it a smoky quality.  To counter balance these flavours I added fresh pineapple, freshly shaved coconut, lime, cilantro and some red onion for bite.  All flavours that pair beautifully with guava.  I also added a small amount of Japanese mayonnaise and hot sauce for a creamy bite.

Cheers, Sara

Sara McCleary is guest blogging for Bundaberg Brewed Drinks.  You can find more of Sara’s recipes at www.bellyrumbles.com

Pickled Pork & Pineapple Tacos

Note:  Left over pickled pork is fantastic on sandwiches and in salads.

2.6 pound piece of pickled pork

The Rub

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon chili sauce
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1. Preheat oven 360°F. In a bowl mix sugar, chilli sauce, cumin, cayenne pepper, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, cinnamon and cloves.
2. Pat dry the pickled pork and place in a suitable sized baking dish on a sheet of parchment paper. Massage the rub well into the pork.  Cook for 1 ½ hours until pork has cooked through.  When pork is cold enough to handle, slice, pull or shred the pork apart to use in with the tacos below.

To make the Tacos

Note:  I have not given exact measurements, but an indication of what to put on each taco.  You will have enough pork from the above recipe to feed a quite a few people.

• Tortillas
• Pulled pickled pork (see above)
• Fresh pineapple, cut into pieces
• Butter lettuce leaves
• Shaved fresh coconut
• Red onion (Spanish onion), finely sliced
• Cilantro
• Salsa verde or your favourite hot sauce
• Japanese mayonnaise
• Lime wedges to serve

Warm tortillas and then place desired amount of each ingredient on top.  Finish off with a small drizzle of mayonnaise, hot sauces and a squeeze of lime juice.

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