Tag: pork
Sri Lankan Pork Curry
Sri Lankan Pork Curry
With Sri Lanka being 70% Buddhist, they are one of the few areas in South Asia that consumes my favorite meat, pork. This curry is traditionally cooked in a clay pot; but using a large sauté pan will work just fine. Ready in just over an hour, the curry is bursting with flavor. You can adjust the heat level by adding as many green chilies as you’d like. Serve the curry over steamed rice.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 20 curry leaves
- 1 large red onion finely chopped
- 1 tsp hot chili powder
- 3 tbsp madras curry powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 green chilies thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 3 lbs pork shoulder cubed
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp garam masala
Instructions
- Heat coconut oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the mustard seeds and cinnamon stick for a minute.
- Add in the cumin seeds and curry leaves. Sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add in the red onions. Sauté for 10 minutes.
- Stir in all of the ground spices and ginger garlic paste. Sauté for 1 minute.
- Stir in the tomato paste, green chilies, tamarind, and coconut milk.
- Add in the pork. Pour in the chicken stock. Cover and simmer over medium low heat for 1 hour.
- Season with salt to taste. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of garam masala.
Madras Curry Powder
While the British claim to have invented madras curry powder in th 1960’s, it can be traced back to South India in the state of Tamil Nadu in the 1700’s. The spice was commercially produced and sold to the British army and government.To make the curry powder, I recommend individually toasting all of the whole spices, since they all toast at different rates. Once all of the spices are cooled, grind all of them in a spice grinder. You can use the curry powder in a variety of South Asian curries; pairing well with just about every protein.
Equipment
- Spice grinder
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp cumin seeds
- 3 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp black mustard seeds
- 3” cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 tbsp fenugreek seeds
- 2 star anise
- 10 curry leaves
- 8 green cardamom pods
- 1 tbsp ground turmeric
- 4 dried Kashmiri chilies
Instructions
- Individually dry toast all of the whole spices. Grind everything together in a spice grinder.
Meatball Congee
Meatball Congee
Congee is one of the few Thai dishes considered breakfast food, although you can eat it anytime. Congee is made by taking cooked rice and lightly processing it in a blender with stock. The rice porridge is simmered until thickened. This particular recipe contains small pork meatballs that are added the last couple minutes of cooking; releasing more porky goodness into the porridge.
Servings: 2
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked jasmine rice
- 4 cups pork stock
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- ground white pepper to taste
- 1” ginger julienned
Pork Meatballs
- 12 oz ground pork
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
Garnish
- 1 green onion chopped
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Mix together the meatball ingredients.
- Roll into marble sized balls. Set aside.
- Place the cooked jasmine rice in a blender with 2 cups of the pork stock.
- Pulse the rice a few times until it is chopped up into smaller pieces; still slightly chunky. You don’t want the rice to be puréed.
- Pour the rice, the rest of the pork stock, fish sauce, soy sauce, and white pepper into a pot over medium heat. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring consistently.
- Add in the meatballs. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Stir in the julienned ginger.
Tasso Ham
Tasso Ham
Tasso ham is a Louisiana specialty. Instead of using a pork leg, pork shoulder is cured, dry rubbed with what is pretty much andouille sausage seasoning, and smoked. The result is a spicy, fatty, ham shoulder that is used in numerous cajun recipes such as jambalaya, gumbo, etouffee, beans and rice, and many more.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 5 lbs boneless pork shoulder cut into 1” thick steaks
- 8 oz sea salt
- 4 oz sugar
- 2 tbsp pink curing salt
- 1/4 cup white pepper
- 1/4 cup cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp marjoram
- 2 tbsp allspice
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp thyme
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
Instructions
- Mix together the salt, sugar, and curing salt.
- Dredge each of the pork steaks in the curing mixture.
- Place the pork steaks on a baking pan. Wrap in foil and let cure in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
- After 4 hours, rinse off the cure on each of the pork steaks. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Mix together the white pepper, cayenne, thyme, garlic powder, allspice, and marjoram.
- Season both sides of the pork steaks.
- Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees. Place the pork steaks into the smoker. Smoke for 2 hours until the internal temp reaches 150 degrees.
- Let the tasso cool completely before use.
