Thai Red Curry With Pork

Thai food uses a balance of flavours to create the perfect combination of sweet, sour, salty and hot to tease the tastebuds and give them an all-round burst of interest and a taste explosion. It’s the kind of food you can’t stop eating and it’s all due to the freshness of all the fresh components. This easy to make recipe is packed with flavour. Use the sauce base with chicken, fish, beef or vegetables.

Ingredients:

400g pork loin, sliced
3 cups coconut cream or milk
1 small eggplant, chopped into chunks
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon coriander leaves and roots, chopped
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 stalk lemongrass, chopped
1-4 red chillies, depending on how hot you like it, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
5 garlic cloves
1 red onion, chopped
1 teaspoon shrimp paste (leave it out if you can’t find)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon palm sugar or honey
1 cup Thai basil leaves or just sweet basil will do
salt and pepper

Method:

Toast the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry pan to release favours and move to a mortar and pestle to grind them to a powder or grind them in a spice mixer. Blend the spices together with the lemongrass, chillies, coriander leaves and roots, ginger, garlic, red onion, shrimp paste, salt and pepper until it forms a smooth paste. In a wok, add 1 cup of the coconut milk and the spice paste and cook for 5 minutes until well combined. Add the pork and stir fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the rest of the coconut milk and the eggplant and simmer until the pork is cooked through. Add the fish sauce and palm sugar and check the seasoning. Pop in the fresh basil leaves before serving with rice or noodles.