Green Curry Pork and Squash Stew

Because, well, some people like it hot…

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs pork shoulder, boned and cut into 1″ chunks
• 2 Tbl vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 3 Tbl green curry paste (available in the ethnic aisle of most large supermarkets)
• 1 can coconut milk (NOT the light version; that stuff is crap)
• 1 quart chicken stock (preferably homemade, of course)
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1″ chunks

• 5 small sweet potatoes, cut into 1″ chunks [*]

• 4 serrano peppers, chopped (leave seeds in if you want; I did)
• salt to taste
• large handful of chopped cilantro

You’ll need a 5.5-6qt dutch oven or heavy pot.

Method:

1. Heat the oil in the pot then brown the pork in batches and set aside.
2. Sautee the onions and garlic in the remaining oil (add more if there’s little oil left in the pan) until they’re soft, scraping up the browned porky goodness as you go.
3. Push the onions and garlic to the sides of the pan and add the curry paste to the center. Stir and fry this up for a few minutes then mix it in with the onions and garlic.
4. Add back the pork (and any juices it’s released) then add the coconut milk and chicken stock (you may also want to add a little salt now but not too much). Bring to a light boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 90 minutes.
5. Add the squash, sweet potatoes and serranos. Cook until the large vegetables are soft.
6. Salt to taste and mix in the cilantro.

As stews go this one is rather thin. You may wish to just eat it over rice like the Thai curry on which it’s based. I just ate it as a stew because sometimes you just don’t want to bother with rice, amiright?

In general this was pretty tasty however despite the abundance of theoretically spicy ingredients it wasn’t hot enough for me. I think the curry paste was getting on and the serranos were duds. It’s also likely that the sweetness of the vegetables put a bit of a damper on the spice. Plus, well, if a food is supposed to be spicy I usually like it very spicy indeed so I’m kind of a tough audience on this front. Still, it had a decent after burn in my mouth and was tasty and comforting.

Overall I like it and will probably make it again sometime after I get more (read: fresher) curry paste. I’m also very much looking forward to eating the leftovers all week (and maybe into next).

[*] No, not peeled. Not only is it easier (read: lazier) but the peels are good for you so suck it up and eat ’em. Plus they add a neat texture to the stew. Return to ingredients