HEALTHY FOOD so TASTY you'll
want to eat it EVERYDAY.
GREEN THAI CURRY WITH PORK
Having spent a lot of time in Asia, one of the things I always looked forward to was the food. Especially in Thailand. The taste they deliver from using fresh ingredients, slow-cooked for maximum flavor development, is unparalleled!
Making your own Thai curry paste is easy and so worth it. You will love the intense flavours.
This recipe delivers the Thailand taste in your own kitchen. You can buy green curry paste (to save time) but I personally haven’t found a store-bought version that delivers on taste…so I make my own! :-)
It's a long list of ingredients, but the process is quite simple.
Give it try…it’s worth the shopping list!
PREP TIME: 30 min (15 min for the paste, 15 min for the pork)
COOK TIME: Plan at least 3 hours to let it slow cook. If you have a Wonderbag, you'll only need 30 min on the stove.
SERVES: 4-6
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE CURRY PASTE
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6 cloves garlic
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2 stalks lemon grass, ends trimmed
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1 oz (30 g) fresh cilantro (coriander), leaves & stems
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1 inch (3 cm) piece of fresh ginger, peeled
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2 red chili peppers, stem cut off and deseeded*
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3 TBSP (45 ml) peanut oil
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¾ tsp salt
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1 tsp turmeric
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Zest of 1 small lime
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2 tsp (10 ml) fresh lime juice
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1 ½ tsp mirin (sweet rice wine)
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1 ½ tsp agave (or coconut or palm sugar)
FOR COOKING
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Two 14 oz (400 ml) cans coconut milk
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All of the above curry paste (or ½ cup store-bought)
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3.5 pounds (1.5 kg) pork shoulder, cut into bite-sized pieces
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7 oz (200 g) mushrooms, sliced
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3 Tbsp (45 ml) lime juice
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1 tsp turmeric
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¼ cup (60 ml) fish sauce
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1 tsp salt
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1 TBSP (15 ml) agave (or coconut or palm sugar)
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: agave syrup, mirin, fresh cilantro (coriander) red chiles, lemongrass stalks, ginger root, ground numeric (kurkuma), salt, garlic cloves, fresh lime.
Green Thai curry paste, pork shoulder, fresh lime, turmeric (kurkuma), salt, fish sauce. (coconut milk not pictured).
FOR SERVING
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1 cup (30 g) fresh coriander leaves, chopped
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½ cup (15 g) fresh basil leaves, chopped
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Brown rice, quinoa, millet or grain of choice
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Optional garnish of whole coriander leaves (looks pretty) and thinly sliced chili pepper (for those that love heat)
MAKE THE CURRY PASTE
Blend all of the curry paste ingredients together using a food processor (or blender of choice) until roughly blended and resembles a coarse paste.
Its easy to make your own curry paste. Simply blend all curry paste ingredients into a course paste.
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
WONDERBAG METHOD
1) In a 4 QT/L pot, bring the coconut milk and curry paste to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 min.
2) Add the pork and mushrooms, increase heat and bring to a boil.
3) Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in the lime juice, turmeric, fish sauce, salt and agave, then simmer, covered, for 10 min.
4) Place the lidded pot into your Wonderbag and seal for 6 hours.
5) Just before serving, stir in the 1 cup cilantro (coriander) and the ½ cup basil leaves, then spoon into bowls.
CONVENTIONAL METHOD
1) In a 4 QT/L pot, bring the coconut milk and curry paste to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 min.
2) Add the pork and mushrooms, increase heat and bring to a boil.
3) Reduce heat to lowest possible setting, stir in the lime juice, turmeric, fish sauce, salt and agave, and simmer covered 2-3 hours, or until pork is tender and will melt in your mouth.
4) Stir about every 30 minutes.
5) Just before serving, stir in the 1 cup cilantro (coriander) and the ½ cup basil leaves, then spoon into bowls.
SERVE
Garnish with more fresh cilantro and slices of red chillies as desired.
Recipe & Photo Credit: Cathy Menees
COOK'S NOTES
EASE
This can seem like an intimidating recipe, given the ‘foreignness’ of some of the ingredients. The process is quite simple…for both the curry paste and the actual curry…it’s sort of a ‘chuck it all in’ recipe.
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INGREDIENTS
YES, you will see some of the same ingredients (repeated in different measures) in both the curry paste and for cooking. It is not a typo. It is solely because I developed the curry paste recipe to use in a variety of ways: as a marinade, a salad dressing, or a rub for various grilled meats. So when using this curry paste to make this pork curry recipe (i.e. in a coconut milk), you will need to add more of some of the same ingredients during the cooking process (specifically the lime juice, turmeric, salt and agave).
* Deseeding the chillies makes this a more 'family friendly' curry. If you like the heat, use all or just some of the seeds. I usually sepeate the seeds from the membrane and set them on the table for people to add their own heat to their bowl. Read as - I like spice food...my husband, not so much!
KITCHEN BUDDIES
The Wonderbag is ideal for this curry as it enables a slow cook and retention of flavor (i.e. you're not opening the curry to stir, so all goodness is trapped inside).
You can of course cook this stove top, just try to simmer on the lowest setting as long as possible for that slow-cooked flavor development...as well as the tenderising of the meat.
