Thai Red Curry Pork with Asparagus

I’m thinking about comfort food and nothing could be more perfect than a good Thai red curry over hot steamed jasmine rice. That’s all I need. For haven sake, I’m Thai…and I just want to feel like home.

I haven’t have Thai curry for a while and I am craving for it today. So, I’m making Thai red curry with pork and some good looking asparagus since they are in season right now instead of bamboo shoots I have thought of using them earlier.  

To keep the asparagus vibrant green, I blanched them first for 3 minutes in hot boiling water and immediately transferred them into a bowl of ice water to stop cooking and added them into the curry the last minute before taking off the heat. This way the asparagus stayed looking fresh and crisp, and they made the curry looks much better. 

Of course you can substitute pork with other meat of your choice or even tofu as well as your favorite veggies.  The most important ingredients is the creamy sauce of coconut milk and the red curry.  However, the seasoning can be adjusted to your own liking whatever you like, but there should have a little bit of sweetness in it.   If you are uncomfortable with using fish sauce, use sea salt but never soy sauce!  Noooo...... 

The curry came out “perfect” as I thought it would be. The creamy of coconut milk, the “just-right” spiciness of red curry paste, the tender pork, and the fresh veggies when pour over hot steamed rice that soaked up the awesome sauce instantly, I thought I was having this meal at home…in Thailand.

Just loving it!

What you need:

1 lb. pork meat, sliced about 1/4-inch thick x 1 1/2-inch wide x 2-inch long
3 cups asparagus, cut into 1-inch long, blanched
1 cup red bell pepper, sliced
1 cup Thai basil leaves
2 leaves kaffir lime leaf, tore by hand into a few pieces
1 can (4 oz.) Thai red curry paste (I used Maesri)
2 tbsp. fish sauce
1/2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 1/2 can (13.5 oz.) coconut milk
1 cup water

How to:

- Add canola oil in a large sauté pan over medium to medium-high heat
- When the oil gets hot, stir in the red curry paste until it fragrant

- stir in 1/2 can coconut milk and keep stirring until the coconut milk has released its own oil which

can be seen on the surface and fragrant, for about 5 minutes

- Add the pork meat into the pan and stir to cook through
- Mix 1 cup of water and 1 can coconut milk to thin it down and then stir it into the pan, add tore

kaffir lime leaf, season with fish sauce, salt and sugar (more or less, adjust to your own taste), and let

the pork meat to cook until it tender for another 10-15 minutes
 - When the meat is tender enough for your liking, add red bell pepper and cook for another 1-2

minutes

 

- Turn off the heat and stir in blanched asparagus and Thai basil leave
- Serve hot with steamed rice – white or brown rice as you desired

Enjoy!

 

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