Can I let you in on a secret about Malaysian curries?
They’re almost always made with purchased curry powders. The majority of my relatives live in Malaysia, and I don’t know a single one who grinds their own paste. They do, however, put enormous time and energy into sourcing the most flavoursome curry powder they can get their hands on, then tweak it with their own touch, adding a little star anise, a twig of cinnamon, some bruised lemongrass, as so on.
I suspect, but can’t be sure, that a lot of Thai curries are made in a similar way. There are certainly some fabulous commercial Thai curry pastes on the market, and it can be hard to replicate their pungent, heady flavours from scratch. Both the Mae Ploy and Maesri brands are excellent, and very reasonably priced (the Maesri tins below were just $1.20 each)…
This recipe is based on one from Charmain Solomon’s Thai Cookbook – a birthday present from Maude many years ago (it’s now out of print, but there’s a generous preview on Google Books).
Here is my slightly modified version:
- 500g (1lb) belly pork, cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar (I used gula melaka)
- 375ml (1½ cups) coconut milk
- half a small tin of Maesri Panang curry paste (about 2 tablespoons)
- handful of basil leaves
- snake beans (or whatever else you have in the garden)
- red chilli for garnish
1. Place the pork, fish sauce and palm sugar in a small saucepan, then add just enough cold water to cover. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the pork is tender. Scoop out the pork with a slotted spoon, and keep the stock.
2. In a wok or clay pot (I used my Emile Henry baby risotto pot), heat up one cup of the coconut milk. Add the curry paste and simmer until fragrant, then add the pork. Cook gently until the oil separates from the gravy, ladling in the reserved stock as needed.
3. Add the snake beans or other vegetables, and cook for a further few minutes until softened. Just before serving, toss in the basil leaves and allow them to wilt. Spoon over the remaining coconut milk, then garnish with a little chopped chilli and serve with steamed rice.
The following day, I took a small quantity of leftover curry and heated it in a saucepan with a container of homemade chicken stock (from the freezer). Once it was boiling, I added a handful of rice vermicelli noodles. It was the perfect faux laksa! I can see myself stashing small containers of leftover curry in the freezer just so I can make this at a moment’s notice…
This dish was supposed to be made with strips of belly pork, but I quite liked the rustic look and taste of the chunky cubes. As I mentioned earlier, much of the Charmaine Solomon book can now be viewed via Google – definitely worth a peruse if you don’t already own it!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 