Hey Otis,
The other posters are correct, "authentic" Polynesian cooking doesn't require the use any spices, not even salt! Having said that the restaurants found they needed to add some salt and a little pepper to accommodate the tourists taste to sell their "in ground" cooked food.
I would suggest you cook your pork as usual, not too spicy, and add a Polynesian mop or finishing sauce, here are a few recipes I've tried with pretty good results and some that are on the to do list:
Pineapple Rum Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 cups fresh pineapple chunks (1/2-inch pieces)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
- 2 tablespoons light rum
[h4] [/h4][h4]
Instructions[/h4]
Combine pineapple, sugar, water and zest in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until pineapple is tender and the liquid is slightly thickened, about 30 to 35 minutes. Stir in the rum, and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and using an immersion blender or food processor puree the pineapple mixture. Allow sauce to chill completely.
Yield: about 2 cups
Orange ginger sauce
Ingredients:
- 1/4 c. orange juice
- 2 tsp. ginger juice or 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 tsp. Asian sesame oil
Directions:
- Place all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and mix well.
- Bring the sauce to a boil just before serving.
[h2]
Mango sauce recipe[/h2]
- 2lbs of ripe mangoes
- 1 small onion
- 2 sweet red peppers
- 2 tbls-1/4 cup ordinary white vinegar
- Salt
- A little sugar if needed
- First, cut the mango into two long flat halves around the stone inside. Pull the two halves apart and discard the stone. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon and place into a blender.
- Chop the onion and sweet red peppers, and sauté over medium heat in about 1Tbls of vegetable oil. Sautee until the onions and peppers are soft, about ten minutes.
- Add these sautéed onions and peppers to the blender with the mango flesh and add your 2 Tbls of vinegar.
- Puree the mixture until smooth.
- Add 1/2 tsp of salt and taste. You want the sauce to be sweet and tart and savory, without being noticeably salty. If you think it is a little bland, add another pinch of salt, and if you think it is too sweet, add a little more vinegar. Most mangoes are sweet enough already, but if your sauce tastes too sour, you can mix in a little sugar to sweeten it up.
Hawaiian Style BBQ Sauce
1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
3/4 cup ketchup
3/4 cup teriyaki sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tsp ginger
3 minced garlic cloves
Can also adjust with other tropical fruit juice or puree' as per taste mix and simmer 15 minutes or so.
[h1]
Sweet And Sour Pineapple Sauce Recipe[/h1][h1]
Ingredients:[/h1][h1]
1 can (8 1/2 ounce size) unsweetened crushed pineapple
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice[/h1]
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in saucepan and simmer 15 minutes.
Tropical Barbeque Sauce
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1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp catsup
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp dry mustard
1 cup pineapple — crushed
1 Tbsp arrowroot
1/4 cup water — cold
Mix together 1 cup water and brown sugar. Add catsup, soy sauce, dry mustard and pineapple. Bring to a boil; simmer ten minutes. Dissolve arrowroot in 1/4 cup water; add to sauce and cook until sauce thickens.
Grilled Pineapple Salsa
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1/2 cup fresh pineapple — medium dice
1/4 cup sliced red onion
1/2 jalapeno — minced
1 1/2 tsp cilantro — chopped
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 lime — juiced
salt and pepper to taste
Use 1/3 of a whole fresh pineapple. Peel, core and slice 1/2". Grill until the sugars start to caramelize. Dice and add other ingredients.
Guava BBQ Sauce
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2 cans guava nectar — (11.5 oz. cans)
1 1/2 cups onion — chopped
2/3 cup guava jelly
1/3 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup molasses (mild-flavored light)
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 Tbsp garlic — chopped
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp dry mustard
Whisk all ingredients in a large saucepan. Boil mixture, whisking until jelly dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce is reduced to 3 cups. Cool.
Polynesian Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 c Soy Sauce
1/3 c Apricot-Pineapple preserves
1/2 ts Ginger
1/4 ts Garlic powder
1 tb Cornstarch
1/4 c Water
Combine first four ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil slowly. While sauce is cooking, combine cornstarch and water and add to sauce.
Cook until sauce thickens.
Those should give you a good choice, it might be hard to find fresh mangoes this time of the year, but being close to Mexico you just might.
Have fun and please don't forget the Q-view.
Gene