Burmese Pork Belly Curry

🧂 Ingredients

• 30 g Lemongrass

  thinly sliced
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt
• 14 g Galangal

  thinly sliced
• 7 g Dried Chilies

  soaked in hot water for 15 minutes
• 45 g Shallots

  thinly sliced
• 2 tsp Shrimp Paste
• 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 1 lb Skinless Pork Belly

  cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
• 30 g Shallots

  sliced
• 1 1/2 tsp Indian Curry Powder
• 1/2 tsp Ground Turmeric
• 1 lb Boneless Pork Shoulder

  cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
• 3 tbsp Fish Sauce
• 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 40 g Brown Sugar or Palm Sugar
• 6 tbsp Tamarind Paste
• 2 cups Water
• 30 g Ginger

  peeled and cut into matchsticks
• 40 g Pickled or Fermented Garlic Cloves (30)
• 2 cups Long Beans

  trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
• 1 cup Thai Basil
• 1 tsp Bird's Eye Chili

  seeds removed, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Fried Shallots

Instructions

• 1 Combine the lemongrass in a mortar and pestle with salt and pound for 2 minutes
  until you've created a paste. Add the galangal and pound until smooth. Drain the
  chilies and add them to the paste with the shallots and shrimp paste. Pound each
  ingredient before moving on to the next. You should have around 1/2 cup of
  paste.
• 2 In a large pot or Dutch Oven over medium high heat cook the pork belly chunks.
  Let sear on all sides until browned and crispy. Discard rendered fat. Set cooked
  pork belly aside.
• 3 Heat the oil in the same pot over medium low heat until it shimmers. Add all of
  the paste, breaking it up with a wooden spoon and stirring occasionally, until
  it's fragrant, 2-3 minutes.
• 4 Stir in the shallots and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes, then add
  the curry powder and turmeric and stir frequently for a minute. Add the pork
  shoulder, stir to coat the pork, and cook for a few minutes.
• 5 Stir in the fish sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Increase the heat slightly
  to bring the liquid to a simmer, cook until the sugar dissolves, then add the
  tamarind along with 2 cups of water. Increase the heat to high, let the liquid
  come to a strong simmer, then immediately decrease the heat to low and cover,
  cooking for 45 minutes.
• 6 Remove the lid and stir in the ginger and cook at a steady simmer until the pork
  shoulder is very tender, approximately 45 more minutes.
• 7 Stir in the pickled garlic cloves and chili, cook for 10 minutes then stir in
  the long beans, Thai basil and pork belly, cook until they're tender and
  slightly crunchy, about 5 minutes. Let the curry cool to warm and season with
  brown sugar or fish sauce to taste.
• 8 Serve in a large bowl topped with fried shallots.

Nutrition Info