Thai Yellow Curry with Pork

Today's post is my first foray into Thai food on No Free Lunch. It's definitely not an area of expertise for me, and I've mostly enjoyed it through restaurants. Ariel is a big fan, so we frequented the excellent Siam House back in Bloomington. These days, we no longer have such easy access. I have attempted pad thai a few times, based on Leela Punyaratabandhu's fascinating, five-part manifesto on the subject. Curry is a core part of the Thai repertoire, and probably the most accessible for home cooks, and that's where I'm starting here. Yellow curry is generally the mildest of the Thai curries, although it's still quite spicy by American standards. I definitely leaned on my Chinese cooking experience making this dish. While Thai cuisine, like many in the region, is influenced by China, it's very much its own thing. Don't take me as an authority on authenticity here (or anywhere, really). I do think I know what tastes good, though, and this dish fits the bill. 

The flavor base of Thai curry comes from curry paste. Most Asian stores have a selection of packaged curry pastes. Commercial curry pastes are very spicy, and even yellow curry paste really wakes up the senses. While making it at home could potentially yield better results, curry paste contains some hard-to-find ingredients. As such, I'm using this one from Mae Ploy. I only used a small amount of what was in this tub. Most curry pastes have a basic recipe on the package, which I used to get some sense of proportions, but ended up putting in a lot more meat and vegetables for the recommended amount of sauce. This yields a much less saucy result than I have typically seen in Thai restaurants. That's fine with me, as I think those usually have way more sauce than needed, but if I did it again I would increase the sauce ratio a bit. I was constrained by only having one can of coconut milk on hand. Increasing the curry paste, coconut milk, and water by anywhere from 50% to double would work.

The recipe is pretty loose here, and having limited experience cooking Thai, I'm not going for high authenticity, just what I enjoy. The pork is based on my recent beef chow fun recipe, but I pushed it in a Thai direction with fish sauce and coconut sugar. I have found coconut sugar in both Asian stores and the supermarket. The pork turned out just as tender as the beef did. The rest of the ingredients can be whatever is on hand. Potatoes and bell peppers are some other good options. I would recommend resisting the temptation to throw everything you have into the curry. I think one meat, onion, and then up to three other items (I used carrots, bamboo shoots, and tofu) is a good rule of thumb. As with fried rice, I like the individual ingredients to still stand out. 

Ingredients

Pork & Marinade

• 1 1/4 lb. pork butt (see instructions for note on preparation)
• 1 Tbs. coconut sugar
• 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 2 Tbs. Thai fish sauce
• 1 Tbs. corn starch
• 1 tsp. baking soda

Curry

• 1 medium yellow onion
• 3 carrots
• 2 Tbs. Thai yellow curry paste
• 1 14.5 oz. can coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 oz. drained bamboo shoots
• 1 lb. firm tofu
• 2 tsp. coconut sugar (to taste)
• Vegetable oil
• Lime wedges

Instructions

Cut the pork into strips (similar to making char siu, but a bit smaller), then slice into thin pieces. It can help to put the strips in the freezer for about an hour to firm them up. Combine in a bag or bowl with all the marinade ingredients. Toss to coat the pork and refrigerate for about an hour.

While the pork marinates, prepare the other ingredients. For the tofu, drain the water from the package. To drain further, sandwich the tofu block between folded paper towels. Place on a plate and put another, inverted plate on top. Put a heavy object on top and let it sit while the pork marinates. I used a wooden cutting board and a casserole dish as the weights. When done, cut the tofu into bite-sized cubes. Cut the onion into strips. Peel the carrots and roughly chop into small chunks. 

In a wok or large saute pan, heat vegetable oil over very high heat. Stir fry the pork in 3 batches until nicely browned. Set aside.

Add more oil as needed. Add the onion and carrots and stir fry about 1 minute. Add the curry paste and cook another minute, using a spatula to break up the paste. You should start smelling curry at this point. Add the coconut milk and water and stir everything together. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the carrots are tender, about 12 minutes. 

Add the tofu, bamboo shoots, and cooked pork. Toss to integrate and cook a few more minutes, so that the tofu is warmed. Add coconut sugar and stir to dissolve into the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. The sauce will be quite spicy at this point, but the other ingredients will balance it out. 

Serve with lime wedges and rice.