I wish I could share with you the ingredients to this unbelievably delicious aromatic curry (sometimes called Burmese Curry) but I dont actually have the recipe. Instead, all I can do is share with your the experience and give you a couple of links that might just might re-create it in the comfort of your own kitchen.
As I wrote here previously, I have had the good fortune to come across a Thai lady called Nitsa, who works at my local supermarket. She makes her own Thai curry pastes and the other day, she passed on a message that she had left me a gift of several jars of these nectars at the customer services desk.
I was duly presented with a bag of aromatic heaven. So far, Ive cooked Thai Red Chicken Curry, Thai Red Beef Salad, Chilli & Prawn Jam Stir-Fried Noodles (delicious, but I forgot to take photos!), and this one, Chiang Mai.
It is (I believe) a combination of all the classic sweet, salty and sour ingredients youd expect to find in Thai cooking: chilli, lemongrass, galangal, coriander, garlic, shrimp paste and palm sugar with the addition of a ver special secret: tamarind water.
It is this tamarind that make this curry so aromatic, so distinct. Ive never tasted anything like it. Its bested used in slow cooked dishes, so pork shoulder lends itself beautifully to it.
If you can get hold of some Chiang Mai paste in a Thai supermarket, then do so. It might not be as good as Nitsas, but its definitely worth treating your tastebuds to the experience.
The recipe, very simply, is this:
Half shoulder of boned pork shoulder, trimmed of fat and chopped into chunks
Half jar chiang mai curry paste
1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into strips
Handful of green beans, halved
Handful of unsalted cashew nuts
1. Rub the paste all over the pork, transfer to a bowl and marinate in the fridge overnight.
2. Heat some of the oil from the paste jar in a frying pan and brown the pork all over.
3. Transfer to a slow cooker with a little water and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours until the pork is very tender. Allow to cool and save until needed.
4. Transfer to a saucepan and add the peppers, beans and cashew nuts. Bring to a simmer to reduce the sauce.
5. Serve with plain boiled sticky Jasmine rice.
