Friday Feast - Thai Market Pork or Chicken Curry

A day late - so perhaps it should be Saturday Supper :)

This photo looks a bit as if a couple of dogs have already been fighting over the food - oops!

Thai Market Pork or Chicken Curry

500g lean tender pork fillet or skinless chicken breast
6 shallots peeled and roughly chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
800ml coconut milk (note, this is 2 cans)
4 tbsp Thai red curry paste
1 tbsp caster sugar
about 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice or to taste

Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and set aside. Whizz or pound the shallots to a rough paste with1 tbsp of the fish sauce.

In a wok or deep frying pan, heat 125ml of the coconut milk over a medium high heat, add the red curry paste and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated and the paste begins to brown.

Add the shallot mixture and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add the remaining coconut milk and 400 ml water (NB - see my note below), bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half or thickened slightly.

Add the meat to the reduced red curry liquid, stir in the remaining1 tbsp fish sauce and the caster sugar and cook for several minutes until the meat is tender and cooked through when tested.

Adjust the flavour with the fresh lime juice.

Serve with rice or noodles.

Things I would do: I have a small Kenwood blitzer so that was great for the shallots, but you could just chop them quite finely I'm sure. The recipe almost tripped me up when it asked for 2 cans of coconut milk but I did have spares here. But, I absolutely would NOT add any water to this recipe when I cook it again - I'd watch it very closely and add water if needed but certainly I wouldn't  do it straight off. I wouldn't use creamed coconut as that could be too thick or could burn - coconut milk all the way for this one.

I used pork fillet for a change as I usually opt for chicken in curries - it was totally gorgeous, despite quite a liquid sauce, and the two-legged mouse (aka Len) made sure there was only some excess sauce left at the end - and not much of that either. Did he drink it I wonder?

Hope you have a super weekend - snippets roll call tomorrow so fingers will be flying over the keyboard here today :)

Di
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