Swahili-infused al pastor

Street Chef Shaw feeds the community.
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Swahili-infused al pastor Photo by Stacy Feyer-Salo

Street Chef Shaw is a new business venture by Kirel Shaw and Myke Worthem that emerged to help feed a community in need. “Street Chef Shaw began as an initiative to feed our community when COVID-19 first hit Michigan hard and a lot of restaurants were shut down,” explained Shaw. “With no aid offered yet, we began giving out free meals to our community to relieve some stress, as we had a lot of friends and family affected who worked in the food industry.”

The pair plan to expand the business and have their sights set on a food truck next — but the sky’s the limit. “We want to make an impact in not only our community, but communities around the U.S. (through) catering, food truck, brick and mortar, online influencer, recipes, etc.,” said Shaw.

Street Chef Shaw focuses on traditional Swahili dishes and traditional Hispanic/Latino dishes.

Ingredients

  • 2 pineapple slices
  • 1 pork shoulder
  • 3 tablespoons ancho paste
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon curry
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 clove of garlic (minced)
  • ½ cup vinegar
  • ½ cup pineapple juice
  • ½ cup orange juice

For serving

  • Corn or flour tortillas
  • Chopped cilantro, red onion and green cabbage
  • Lime wedges
  • Salsa (optional)
  • Avocados (optional)

Instructions

Cut pork shoulder into ½-inch slices. Combine all ingredients except pineapple slices and pork slices. Mix well to make sure there are no clumps. Add pork to the marinade and let marinate for 3 hours or more. Use a wooden skewer to skewer one pineapple slice, then the pork slices. Adding the other pineapple slice to the top of the tower.

Roast in oven at 350 degrees for 2 hours (If tower falls just rotate the skewer every 30 minutes to make sure all sides become crispy). Cover in tinfoil and let rest for 30 minutes. Slice pork off skewer and add to taco.

Dress with red onion, cilantro and cabbage (as well as optional ingredients) and garnish with a lime wedge.

This story can be found in the January 2021 issue of Grand Rapids Magazine. To get more stories like this delivered to your mailbox each month, subscribe here

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