Asian Spicy Pork Curry
Why is it called Asian spicy pork curry?
This time is about Asian pork curry. I found this recipe in an English curry book some years ago. This is a sort of curry but quite different from Indian curry. Therefore I call it Asian spicy pork curry. For the seasoning this recipe uses fish sauce, soy sauce, lemon /lime juice, brown sugar, Thai red curry paste and honey. So you can imagine the taste is spicy and a bit sweet. When I made this curry the first time, my impression was something between Thai curry and Indonesian meat stew. My family found it very tasty. Since then I make this dish regularly.
If you like Asian foods, I think you like this curry. Fish sauce and soy sauce add an oriental accent, and lime leaves gives Asian flavor to the dish.
Stewing, Slow-cooking method
Usually I cook this curry at the weekend, since you need to cook it for a couple of hours. Although it takes a long cooking time (2-3 hours), it is quite easy to make. The results are : moist, tender meat and deep taste sauce. Tough meat transformed to juicy tender meat.
Generally speaking, slow-cooking means a cooking method using low-heat for a long time. The benefits of slow-cooking are that food becomes very tender and the flavor of all ingredients are integrated during the cooking time. Please find more information about stewing via the link below.
Not only with rice, but also with buns
We usually eat the Asian pork curry with rice. The rice types I use are Japanese or Pandan rice. For Japanese rice, please click the link below.
We often sprinkle fried onion, roasted coconuts and peanuts on the curry to add crunchiness. If you serve fresh vegetable salad with the curry, this is also delicious. The fresh salad is a good side dish to accompany the tender meat.
If there is a curry left over, following day we warm up the curry with the microwave and make a sandwich with left over pork, fresh shredded lettuce and buns. I find the sandwich is rather delicious. For this reason, I add extra pork for the sandwich.
Asian Spicy Pork Curry
Equipment
- Stew pan with a lid
Ingredients
- 800 grams Pork belly (block)
- 3 table spoon Fish sauce
- 3 table spoon Lemon or Lime juice
- 3 table spoon Soy sauce
- 5 – 6 Lime leaves (fresh or frozen)
- Black pepper
- 1 table spoon Salad oil
- 200 grams Shallots
- 30 grams Ginger (peeled)
- 4-6 cloves Garlic
- 1 Fresh red chili (cut in half vertically and removed the seeds)
- 70-80 grams Thai red curry paste You can buy this at super market.
- 500 ml water
- 2-3 table spoon honey
Instructions
- Cut the pork belly into 2-3cm chunks and put them in a bowl. Add fish sauce, brown sugar, lemon or lime juice, soy sauce and lime leaves and season with freshly ground black pepper. Then mix well and leave this for half an hour.
- Put shallots, ginger, garlic and red chili in a food processor and chop them with pulse mode. If you don’t use food processor, chop them finely by hand.
- Put the oil in a stew pan and heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chopped mixture and fry for 5 minutes, stir constantly.
- Add the red curry paste to the pan and fry and stir for a couple of minutes.
- Now add pork and its marinade and cook for 5 minutes, turning the meat regularly.
- Pour the water into the pan and bring to boiling. Reduce the heat and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer the curry gently for about one and a half hour or until the pork is tender. Now and then take off the lid and stir the curry during the cooking time.
- Once the pork is tender, remove the lid and add honey to the pan. Bring it to the boil, and cook further until the sauce is reduced. Stir regularly to prevent scorching. The curry looks rich and glossy at the end of the cooking time.
When you have free afternoon, it’s worth cooking a dish like this. Hope you will enjoy “Asian pork curry”. Bon appétit!!