Gaeng Pa Moo (Pork Jungle Curry)

Like any recipe, over time you make amendments and adaptations, you find better ways to make a dish or variety of ingredients that have a better 'fit' and are truer to the authentic version of a dish.

This is one such recipe- way, way back in June 2014, jungle curry was one of the first recipes I put up on my blog- click here for beef jungle curry. However, despite being my favourite type of Thai curry, it was always one I felt I couldn't quite do justice to and wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. Over the last couple of years I've been fiddling with both the way the curry is cooked and the ingredients. 

Jungle curry, is a northern Thai curry, heavy on the vegetables, typically one of the hotter Thai curries and is made without coconut milk. If you like spicy hot, herbal flavours with lots of crunchy textures, you'll love Gaeng Pa. It's very easy to do. It's also easily adaptable to be a vegetarian dish- just add more of the meaty king oyster mushrooms and substitute the fish sauce for a big pinch of salt.

So may I present the upgraded- Gaeng Pa Moo (Pork jungle curry)...

This make four portions:

• 300g of lean pork, sliced thinly
• 5 baby corn cobs, cut into chunks
• a small handful of green beans, cut into chunks
• a large handful bamboo shoots, drained and rinsed
• 2 king oyster mushrooms, cut into wedges
• a large handful of pea aubergines/eggplants
• a large red chilli, sliced
• 3 fingers of krachai (finger root), finely shredded
• a tablespoon of green peppercorns
• a handful of holy basil (or sweet basil- but NOT Mediterranean basil!!)
• a few kaffir lime leaves, ripped into small pieces
• a large tablespoon of red curry paste (I use Mae Ploy brand)
• 300ml of meat stock
• a small splash of fish sauce
• a small pinch of palm sugar (or light brown sugar)

• Heat the stock in a pan (no wok needed for this recipe) until simmering. Add in the pork; it's thinly sliced so will cook quickly, in around 2 minutes. 
• Add in the red curry paste and stir until thoroughly mixed into the stock. 
• Add in the lime leaves and krachai strips, which will start to infuse into the broth. 
• Next pop in the chunkier vegetables; green beans, pea aubergines, baby corn cobs and bamboo shoots, let them cook down for a few minutes then add in the king oyster mushrooms, green peppercorns, sugar and fish sauce. 
• Cook for a few more minutes, stirring every so often; the vegetables should still retain some crunch. 
• Just before serving, stir in the basil and chilli slices and serve with rice.