It’s that time of the month my friends for the Recipe Redux Challenge. Drum roll please….it’s spring in the Northern Hemisphere and Picnic Day is April 23, so get ready to eat al fresco. Show us the healthy recipes you like to bring on a picnic – or serve outside.

Every Sunday we eat al fresco. Since our kids sailed as their summer sport, whose season spans 8 months, we had a lot of meals on the water. Sailing goes all day so we would pack up for an adventure every Sunday morning. And if there were regettas then the adventures spanned over a weekend or a whole week. I became adept at creating food that could be eaten with wet hands while being highly nutritious to keep us all going during a long day on and in the water.

Skewers are my food of choice for sailing adventures. The grilled meat can be eaten straight from the skewer with one hand while sailing. And unlike with a sandwich, it didn’t matter if your hands were wet. They are also versatile in that the landlubbers could use them to fill some crusty rolls and slather them with some fresh vegetables for a satisfying meal.

By far one of our favourite skewers is bun thit nuong, Vietnamese Chargrilled Pork Neck Skewers. The simple marinade of fish sauce, onions, garlic and sugars takes the fatty pork neck to the next level. The key is to quickly sear the meat on a hot barbecue. The smell is so intoxicating you’ll be drooling while your cooking. Enjoy my friends.

Bun Thit Nuong: Vietnamese Chargrilled Pork Neck Skewers

• Servings: 4
• Time: 15 mins prep; marinade overnight; 6-8 minutes grilling
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

A simple marinade creates pork that’s perfect for a sandwich, salad or on its own.

Credit: modified from Luke Nguyen’s recipe

Required skills: using a measuring cup instead of eyeballing it.

This pork is very versatile as it’s tasty warm or cold. Set it to marinade the night before and grill it in the morning to take on an adventure. It can be served Bah Min style in a crusty roll with freshly grated carrots, red capsicum, thin slices of cucumber and butter lettuce. Toss it in a salad of vermicelli rice noodles, lots of fresh veggies and mint or eat it straight off the skewer with a bit of mango salsa.

You'll Need

• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp Sichuan pepper
• ¼ brown onion finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) preservative and MSG free fish sauce. I use Ayam.
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 500 g (1 lb) pork neck, finely slice across the grain into 3 mm pieces
• Mortar and pedestal
• Large bowl for marinating
• Metal bbq skewers

Method

1. In the mortar and pedestal pound the chopped onion, garlic, Sichuan pepper and sugar into a paste. 
2. Add the fish sauce and mix well. Transfer to the marinating bowl and whisk through the honey.
3. Add the sliced pork, mixing well with your hands to ensure it is thoroughly coated. Marinate at least overnight in the refrigerator.
4. Thread the meat onto the skewers like ribbons. They should be bunched up, not flat.
5. Heat a BBQ to very hot allowing the skewers to come to room temperature.
6. Sear the pork 3-4 minutes a side. The bits touching the grill will become quite brown owing to the sugars.

So my friends, if you are looking for some picnic or adventure foods why not check out what else has been ReDuxed this month at

Informed by science, cooked by you.