Chef Antonio Martin of Haven Kitchen + Bar in Langley, B.C., was the mastermind behind the cultural dinner at last year’s CooksCamp: a traditional Filipino kamayan feast or boodle fight, with dishes spread out in the middle of the table on banana leaves, around which people gather and eat using their hands (kamay means “hand” in Tagalog). The boodle fight started in the military, when soldiers ate together with no rank or file, standing shoulder to shoulder in camaraderie. Create your own kamayan feast, as we did on the cover, with these pork skewers (and the chicken adobo on page TK) as the main dish. Add rice, veggies, atchara pickles (grated and pickled green papaya), fresh fruit (mango, watermelon, limes) and whatever else you want!
NOTE: Martin says Filipino cuisine is “mostly by feel rather than a set of standard measurements,” so use the following measurements as a guideline. Most of the Filipino ingredients are easy to find at larger grocery stores and Asian markets, or experiment with the suggested substitutions.
Makes 12 to 16 skewers
Time: 45 minutes, plus 6 to 24 hours of marinating time
- 2 kilograms pork shoulder
- 12 to 18 bamboo barbecue skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes
- 3 cups Filipino banana ketchup (or use regular tomato ketchup)
- 1½ cups calamansi juice (use purées or extracts if you can’t find fresh, or use key lime and mandarin orange juice in equal parts)
- 1½ cups Filipino soy sauce (or use Kikkoman soy sauce or Aloha shoyu)
- 1½ cups coconut vinegar (or use apple cider vinegar)
- 1½ cups brown sugar
- 3½ tablespoons minced garlic
- 2½ cups 7-Up or Sprite
Cut the pork shoulder into 1-inch cubes. Whisk all the marinade ingredients except the 7-Up (or Sprite) until sugar is dissolved. Divide marinade in half. Add 7-Up to one of the halves and set the other half aside for basting. Marinate the pork cubes in the 7-Up marinade for 6 hours or preferably overnight.
Remove the marinating pork from the fridge and let rest for 30 minutes to bring to room temperature. Assemble the skewers. Preheat grill to medium-high heat (charcoal gives more flavour, but propane also works). Place skewers on the grill and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on one side. Flip skewers and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Keep turning until the meat is almost fully cooked (about 90 percent, or with internal temperature of around 130°F).
With a brush and the marinade without 7-Up, baste the pork skewers. Repeat basting and cooking until completely cooked (around 145°F). Serve with steamed rice and atchara pickles.