This Ginger Lime Pork with Coconut Rice recipe comes together in just 30 minutes and is bursting with sweet and savory flavors.

New favorite 30-minute meal alert! ♡
This is definitely one of those recipes that cooks up to be so much more than the sum of its parts, thanks to a few extra minutes in the skillet that magically help to caramelize the ginger-lime sauce with the pork. It’s a simple trick that yields the most irresistible sticky texture and flavor. And I’m certain you are going to love it!
All you need is a pound of ground pork (or ground chicken, beef, turkey, seitan — you choose!), which will then be sautéed until caramelized with a simple mix of scallions, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, lime juice and sriracha. Then sprinkle on your choice of toppings, such crushed peanuts, scallions, and/or fresh herbs (mint, cilantro or Thai basil are all great options). Serve over my favorite coconut rice, which pairs perfectly with all of that ginger and lime. And enjoy, enjoy.
I’ve been making this dish on repeat these past few months whenever I’m craving a quick hit of protein for dinner, usually with a side of veggies or a simple green salad, and it always hits the spot. So if you’re looking for a simple new recipe to add to your rotation, I hope you’ll give it a try soon!
Ginger Lime Pork with Coconut Rice Recipe | 1-Minute Video

Ginger Lime Pork Ingredients
Here are a few quick notes about the ginger lime pork ingredients that you will need to make this recipe:
- Coconut rice: Made easily with jasmine rice (or another long-grain white rice), coconut milk, fine sea salt and a hint of sugar.
- Ground pork: I typically use ground pork as the base for this recipe, but you can also sub in ground chicken, turkey or beef if you prefer.
- Scallions: We will thinly slice the scallions, then sauté the white parts with the pork and use the green parts as a garnish.
- Ginger: It’s best to use fresh ginger in this recipe, which you can either grate or finely mince.
- Lime juice: We will add some lime juice to the sauté itself, but then I highly recommend serving this dish with a few lime wedges on the side too.
- Garlic: I love adding lots of fresh garlic to this dish, which you can either press or mince.
- Light brown sugar: We will add in some light brown sugar to help the pork become perfectly caramelized and sticky.
- Hot sauce: I like adding in some Sriracha to give this dish a bit of heat, but you could also add some diced fresh chiles (such as jalapeño peppers or Thai bird chiles) or crushed red pepper flakes to the sauté. Or you could omit the extra heat entirely.
- Salt and pepper: Fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper as always, for seasoning.
- Toppings: The more, the merrier! I highly recommend chopped peanuts, extra lime wedges, and chopped fresh herbs (cilantro, mint, and/or Thai basil).

Recipe Tips
Full instructions are included in the recipe box below, but here are a few more helpful tips to consider when making this dish:
- Begin with the coconut rice. Believe it or not, the rice is actually the most time-intensive part of this recipe. So get it started first, and then begin preparing the pork.
- Prep your ingredients before you begin cooking. Once you heat up the oil, cooking the pork actually goes quite fast. So it’s helpful to have the scallions, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, lime juice and sriracha prepped and measured out in advance.
- Give the pork time to properly caramelize. In order for the pork to properly caramelize and achieve that sticky, golden, irresistible texture, it needs to have time to sit in the hot sauté pan without being stirred. So let it rest for a minute or two, then give it a quite stir once you notice it has caramelized on the bottom, and repeat as needed.
- Season to taste. Want more heat? Amp up the sriracha. Need more of a zing? Add another squeeze of lime juice. And of course, don’t forget the salt and pepper.
- The more toppings, the merrier! I highly recommend a generous sprinkling of chopped peanuts as a garnish, along with the scallions. But if you happen to have some fresh herbs on hand (mint, cilantro, and/or Thai basil), definitely add them too!

Recipe Variations
Here are a few more variations that you’re welcome to try with this ginger lime pork recipe:
- Use a different protein: Ground chicken, beef, turkey or even seitan can work well in this recipe if you prefer not to use pork.
- Use plain rice or rice noodles: If coconut rice isn’t your thing, this dish will still be delicious served over plain white or brown rice or rice noodles.
- Add fish sauce: Add a tablespoon of fish sauce in Step 3 (with the brown sugar) for an extra level of flavor.
- Add lemongrass: Add a tablespoon of lemongrass paste or finely minced fresh lemongrass in Step 1 (with the scallions).
What To Serve With This Recipe
I love serving this ginger lime pork recipe with either:
- Fresh veggies: Sliced cucumber, shredded carrots, fresh bean sprouts, sliced bell peppers, or sliced tomatoes would all be delicious no-cook options to serve alongside this dish.
- Cooked veggies: Roast some broccoli, asparagus, green beans, or any other veggies that sound good to serve as a side.
- Salad: Toss some greens and fresh veggies with nước chấm for a quick and simple side salad.
- Lettuce cups: For a fun twist, scoop this dish into lettuce slices to serve as lettuce cups!

More Quick Stir-Fries
Looking for more quick and easy stir-fry recipes that are sure to be a hit? Here are a few of our faves:
- Green Curry Salmon
- Cashew Chicken and Broccoli
- Lemongrass Coconut Noodles with Shrimp
- Thai Chicken Curry
Ginger Lime Pork with Coconut Rice
- Prep Time: 18 mins
- Cook Time: 12 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 3 to 4 servings 1x
Description
This Ginger Lime Pork with Coconut Rice recipe comes together in just 30 minutes and is bursting with savory, sweet, fresh flavors.
Ingredients
- 1 batch coconut rice*
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts separated)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons minced or grated fresh ginger
- 1 1/2 pounds ground pork
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon sriracha, or more/less to taste
- fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- toppings: chopped peanuts, extra lime wedges, chopped fresh herbs (cilantro, mint, and/or Thai basil)
Instructions
- Cook the coconut rice. Prepare the coconut rice as directed.
- Sauté. While the rice is cooking, heat the oil over high heat in a large sauté pan. Add the white parts of the scallions, garlic, ginger and sauté for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add the pork and use a wooden spoon to stir and break it up as it cooks.
- Add the sauce. Once the pork is no longer pink, add in the brown sugar, lime juice, sriracha and stir until evenly combined. Let the pork continue to cook, undisturbed, for 2 minutes or until it caramelizes on the bottom. Stir, then let the pork cook undisturbed for 1-2 more minutes or until it caramelizes on the bottom.
- Season. Taste and season with salt and pepper and/or extra sriracha as needed.
- Serve. Serve warm over the coconut rice, garnished with your desired toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
Rice: If coconut rice isn’t your thing, no worries! This recipe will still be delicious if served with plain white or brown rice.




Thank you so much for this quick and easy, delicious recipe! I made it for my family and it was a huge hit! My girls fight over who gets to take the leftovers to school for lunch the next day. It is now in our regular meal rotation. It’s perfect for a busy weeknight!
I love all your recipes, Ali, but this one didn’t quite work for me. I had a hard time carmelizing the pork. I ended up adding more brown sugar. The coconut rice was a bit flavorless, IMO. But my husband loved it. I guess I like something a little saucier.
So easy to make! Super tasty and paired perfectly with the coconut rice.
Absolutely delicious like every GSO recipe I make. Love the combo with coconut rice. We will definitely make this easy and super yummy recipe again.
Great dish! I used a little honey instead of sugar and it totally worked. I also added green beans as the veggie and put in some fish sauce. It was so good with toppings too — peanuts, cilantro, sri racha sauce. A flavor sensation!
This was delish. Made it with 1 lb of ground chicken as the store didn’t have pork. Bet it would have been even better with the caramelizarían of the pork. The coconut rice was great as well. Served with a bag of frozen “Asian vegetables”
Loved this recipe! Adding to the rotation.
Yum! I made this today, and it was a huge hit! So easy and has lots of flavor. Thank you!
I’ve been a follower of this blog for over a decade and never been led astray–every recipe I’ve tried has turned out beautifully! So that’s why I’m wondering if it was user error on this one? I’ve never bought ground pork before. The package I found looked like hamburger meat–a pound of meat on a styrofoam tray. It was so unbelievably tough to cook (breaking it up with a wooden spoon was a workout!) and fatty! Is there another kind of ground pork, like in the cylinder shaped packaging?
Very tasty dish. Coconut rice came out great even without rinsing the rice as I didn’t have the right strainer. Loved the flavor of the pork but think I did something wrong as it was drier than I expected. Not sure if I overcooked, crowded the pan too much, or didn’t have enough sugar? I’ll try again since I really did enjoy the flavor.