How to Cook Indonesian Pork Curry

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients needed to make Indonesian Pork Curry:

• 1 ½ lb pork strips, diced into 1’’ cubes
• 12 oz pumpkin, peeled and chopped into 1’’ chunks
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed
• 1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 10 oz fresh spinach leaves, picked and rinsed
• 1’ fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1 tbsp fresh basil leaves, leaves picked and roughly shredded
• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, leaves picked and roughly shredded
• 1 fresh lemongrass stalk, thinly sliced
• ½ pint creamed coconut
• 6 tbsp red Thai curry paste or sambal paste
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cooking instructions for Indonesian Pork Curry:

• Drizzle oil in a wok and heat it over moderately high heat until it smokes.
• Toss the pork chunks into the hot wok, few at a time to avoid overcrowding, and cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring often, until they turn golden brown evenly.
• Drain them out with the help of a slotted spoon into a bowl and keep warm until all the pork chunks are browned similarly.
• Throw in the garlic as well as onion into the same wok and sauté over slow flame, stirring at times, until the latter softens but doesn’t change its colour yet.
• Stir in the ginger, pumpkin and lemongrass and sprinkle the fennel seeds over them.
• Stir fry for another 5 minutes over slow flame and spoon in the Thai curry paste or sambal paste.
• Give it a nice stir to coat the mixture well with the spicy paste and cook until it gives out a pleasant piquant aroma.
• Dump the cooked pork back into the wok and pour in the creamy coconut milk.
• Stir them all together and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
• Lower the heat back to medium and bring it to a simmer.
• Cook likewise for about 10-12 minutes and sprinkle the chopped herbs over the curry.
• Throw in the spinach leaves and fold them into the curry along with a dash of salt to season.
• Whisk in a splash of lime juice until well combined and pour it into a serving bowl.
• Serve alongside steamed white rice.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons