Ingredients
Serves 4180ml coconut oil (organic if possible)
200g yellow curry paste (see below)
800g pork shoulder, diced
100g palm sugar, shaved
100ml fish sauce
400ml coconut milk
400ml chicken stock
1pkt pickled mustard greens (see notes)
Yellow Curry Paste
Makes approximately 250g
1 medium-sized red onion, peeled & chopped
8 cloves garlic, peeled
6 coriander roots, scraped & cleaned
1 x 4cm piece turmeric, peeled & chopped
1 x 4cm piece ginger, peeled & chopped
8 x long dried red chilli’s, seeded & soaked
Spice mix
20g coriander seeds
10g cumin seeds
10g fennel seeds
10g white peppercorns
20g sea salt
Method
Place the coconut oil in a heavy-based pot on a medium heat. Add the curry paste and fry until fragrant and you can smell the spices.
Add the pork and continue to cook out until the pork pieces are sealed
Add the palm sugar and fish sauce, stirring continuously until the sugar is dissolved.
Pour over the coconut milk and stock and bring to the boil, reduce and simmer for 45 minutes.
This should allow the pork enough time to cook through.
Leave to rest on the stove with the heat off for 15 minutes to help the flavours develop.
Before serving, check the seasoning: it should taste sweet, salty and aromatic.
Serve with the pickled mustard green.
This curry can have a vegetable content added to it, sweet potato, pumpkin or potato are traditional additions.
To make the yellow curry paste
Place the onion, garlic, coriander roots, turmeric and ginger in a heavy-based pan or wok over a medium heat.
Stir until coloured and soft. If the ingredients are taking on too much colour, add a little water to slow down the cooking process. We want the ingredients to caramelise as this is going to give the finished curry depth and added flavour.
When the ingredients are soft, scrape into a large bowl and add the drained chillies.
Set aside to cool, then blend in a food processor for 3–4 minutes to a smooth reddish yellow paste. If the paste is not wet enough, add a little water to help the move the blades.
To make the spice mix
Wet the coriander, cumin and fennel, drain and dry-roast in a small heavy-based pan or wok over a medium heat for 5–8 minutes.
This will give all the spices ample time to roast all the way through, and do roast slowly for that length of time as they need to be very fragrant when done.
Cool, then combine with the peppercorns and salt and grind in small batches in a spice or coffee grinder to a fine powder.
Pass through a fine mesh sieve.
Stir the spices into the paste, mix well and place in an airtight container.
This paste keeps in a refrigerator for 4–6 days or you can freeze it.
Pickled mustard greens
Pickled mustard greens are available in all Asian supermarkets.
Before using these you must bring the mustard greens to the boil in salted water and drain.
I then make a solution of equal parts sugar and white vinegar and finally chop the stem part of the mustard greens and place in the vinegar to preserve.
Assembly
Serve the curry in a deep bowl garnished with coriander leaves and fried eshallots.
Serve the pickled mustard greens on the side with some of the preserving vinegar as this will cut into the richness of the curry.
Martin Boetz is the Executive Chef at Longrain Restaurant & Bar, Sydney & Melbourne