Pork and grapefruit or pomelo stir fry

By: Catherine Phipps
From: Citrus
Serves: 4
Photographer: Mowie Kay

This recipe contains an optional addition of pomelo pith, which needs some fairly intense boiling before you can use it. It isn’t essential, but if you are using pomelo it is worth trying the pith at least once, as it adds an extra dimension to both the flavour and texture of the stir fry.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
1 tablespoon	groundnut oil (or other neutral-tasting oil)
10g	fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
a bunch	spring onions, whites and greens separated, sliced
2	garlic cloves, sliced
2	red chillies, sliced
1	red pepper, cut into strips
75g	pomelo pith, prepared in advance as below, (omit if using grapefruit)
400g	pork tenderloin, cut into strips
100ml	coconut milk
1 tablespoon	fish sauce
a squeeze	lime juice, (optional)
30g	fresh coconut flesh, cut into thin slivers and lightly toasted
1	grapefruit or pomelo, segmented, see recipe note
a handful	thai basil
	sea salt
	freshly ground black pepper
	steamed jasmine rice, to serve
or	noodles, to serve

Method

Heat the oil in a large wok. When it is hot – the air above it should be shimmering – add the ginger, spring onion whites, garlic, chillies, red pepper and pomelo pith, if using pomelo not grapefruit. Fry for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly, then add the pork. Season with salt and pepper.
Stir fry for another minute or two then, still on a high heat, add the coconut milk and fish sauce. Cook for 3–4 minutes until the sauce has reduced a little, then taste and squeeze in some lime juice if you think it needs it. Remove from the heat and add the toasted coconut, grapefruit or pomelo segments and the Thai basil. Sprinkle with the spring onion greens and serve immediately with jasmine rice or some noodles, and perhaps some oriental greens on the side.

To prepare the pomelo pith

Make sure none of the zest is still attached (use this for something else) and cut the pith into thick slices. Soak in water for 24 hours, changing the water several times, then boil for 10 minutes or until completely transparent. Drain thoroughly.

How to cut

Top and tail the citrus and sit it firmly on your chopping board. Then cut from top to bottom, following the contour of the fruit, making sure you are cutting away the pith and outer membrane as you go. When you have cut all the way around, trim off any other bits of white pith you can see. You can then slice or dice the fruit as it is, flicking out pips as you go. For membrane-less segments, take the fruit in one hand and cut along one side of each segment – you can then either cut down the other side to release the segment or you can carefully scrape the flesh in one movement from the centre to the edge – this will ensure you remove every bit of flesh from that side. You should always do this over a bowl to catch any juice, and I always squeeze out the discarded peel and membranes too.

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