Cookbook:Burmese Pork Curry

Burmese Pork Curry
Category	Curry recipes
Servings	4
Time	2 hours
Difficulty

Cookbook | Ingredients | Recipes | Cuisine of Burma | Meat | Curry

Burmese pork curry is a light, flavoursome pork dish.

Ingredients

• 675g pork, diced into chunks
• 2.5cm root ginger, fresh, crushed
• 8 red chilli, dried
• lemongrass stalks, finely chopped
• 15mL (1 tbsp) galangal, fresh, chopped
• 15mL (1 tbsp) shrimp paste
• 30mL (2 tbsp) brown sugar, fine
• 600mL (2½ cup) water
• 10mL (2 tsp) turmeric, ground
• 5mL (1 tsp) soy sauce, dark
• 4 shallot, finely chopped
• 15mL (1 tbsp) garlic, chopped
• 45mL (3 tbsp) tamarind juice
  • or 5mL (1 tsp) tamarind pulp concentrate
• 5mL (1 tsp) brown sugar, granulated
• 15mL (1 tbsp) fish sauce
• red chillis, fresh, to garnish
• 200g French (green) beans

Procedure

1. Soak the dried chilli in warm water for 20 minutes.
2. Crush, in a mortar with pestle, the ginger, chilli, lemongrass, and galangal, until they form a coarse paste.
3. Add the shrimp paste and fine sugar, and continue grinding to a dark grainy purée.
4. Place the pork in a wok or large pan and stir in the curry purée until the meat is well coated.
5. Cook the pork over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until the meat changes colour and renders some of its fat, and the curry has started to release its aroma.
6. Stir in the turmeric, water, and soy sauce, then simmer gently, uncovered, for 40 minutes until the meat is tender.
7. Steam the beans separately for about 10 minutes.
8. Stir, into the meat, the sugar, tamarind, garlic, shallots, and fish sauce, until the sugar and tamarind are dissolved.
9. Garnish with the fresh chillis and steamed beans, and serve immediately.

Notes, tips, and variations

• The pork can have some of its fat trimmed, but should have some remaining to render into the sauce as it cooks.

• Instead of galangal, additional root ginger can be used.