Thai red curry is a broad term describing any curry that is red in color, although variations exist among the dish’s ingredients or their ratios. Today’s menu features a Thai red curry paste to which we add higher quantities of coriander root and kaffir lime zest; this creates a more aromatic character that will enhance the smokiness of the grilled pork meat and the mild sweetness of the unripe green bananas.
It is a thick, rich curry, cooked with freshly squeezed coconut cream, seasoned to a salty-sweet flavor and finished with kaffir lime leaves and holy basil leaves for freshness.
We will grill the pork until it’s fully cooked and its outer layers nicely caramelized. We introduce the curry’s ingredient flavors to the pork in the grilling stage – incorporating all the flavors into the meat, including the “Three Kings” of Thai cooking – coriander root, garlic and white peppercorns – along with coconut cream, fish sauce and palm sugar.
For even more intoxicating flavor, we will enhance the coconut essence in the dish by adding grated coconut over the hot charcoal while grilling the pork: This will intensify the pork with a sweet coconut smokiness that blends beautifully with the coconut base curry, resulting in a simple yet refined dish.
Balancing the flavors and the medicinal properties of the ingredients
Thai cuisine is renowned for its crafted composition of tastes and textures: this dish elegantly demonstrates as well the ancient Siamese tradition of balancing the medicinal properties in each ingredient.
Thai traditional medicine, with influences from the Indian Ayurvedic tradition and holistic Chinese medicine, advocates living in harmony with nature as the key to longevity and a healthy life.
Each ingredient possesses properties that address internal energies and that can be utilized to balance those internal energies.
For instance, raw bananas are used to offset the heat of the chili-based curry. The ancient Chinese medicine book, “Ben Cao Gang Mu Shi Yi”, mentions that the banana is sweet in taste and cold in nature, and that the unripe banana fruit is a strong astringent that aids digestion and prevents gastric ulcers. In the old days, Thai mothers fed to their babies a formula of cooked rice mixed with ground banana; this was believed to improve digestion.
Modern medicine supports this idea and recognizes bananas as a remedy for various gastrointestinal conditions, from diarrhea to peptic ulcers, due to their high levels of tannins, sitoindosides and leucocyanidins.
As well, the banana tree accompanies Thai people from birth to the afterlife. To invite protective spirits, newborns are gifted with decorative objects made out of banana leaves. The banana tree continues to provide throughout life, with nearly endless uses for banana leaves, trunks and fruit, finally ending with the female spirit ghost, Maae Praai Taanee (แม่พรายตานี), who resides in banana trees and in Thai beliefs.
This recipe is adapted from “Maae Khruaa Huaa Bpaa” (แม่ครัวหัวป่าก์), a cookbook published in 1971 as a memorial for Jao Jaawm Phit (เจ้าจอมพิศว์); this recipe can also be found in other old cookbooks.
Jao Jaawm Phit was the daughter of Jao Phrayaa Passakornrawong (Phaawn), a nobleman and a prominent political figure in the 19th century, as well as a descendant of the powerful aristocratic Siamese family of Persian origin – the Bunnag family.
Jao Jaawm Phit’s mother, Thanpuying (Lady) Plean Passakornrawong, was a pioneer of noble Thai cuisine. Lady Thanpuying is known for her culinary writing. Considered to be the first comprehensive Thai cookbook, Maae Khruaa Huaa Bpaa (แม่ครัวหัวป่าก์), her book consists of five volumes: its first edition, from 1908, is quite rare and sought after by connoisseurs of Thai food.
Cooking tips:
Make your own curry paste using fresh ingredients and a stone pestle and mortar. You will never get the full aroma or the same complexity of flavors from premade curry mixtures.
Use pork neck or pork belly as the meat cut of choice.
Peel the green bananas and cut them into uniformly sized pieces. Soak the pieces in water mixed with lime and salt to prevent oxidization and to remove some of their unripe stickiness.
Usually we use Thai sweet basil, but have chosen to use Holy Basil in this recipe. If you can find it, the red variety is more aromatic.
Balance the taste for spicy and salty with a touch of sweetness.
This curry pairs well with deep-fried fish, Thai-style omelet or pomelo salad.
Old-Fashioned Thai Red Curry of Grilled Smoked Pork Neck and Unripe Green Bananas Recipe
Hanuman and Chef Thapakorn Lertviriyavit (Gorn)
A rich Thai red curry, cooked with freshly squeezed coconut cream, with grilled & smoked pork neck and unripe green bananas. It is seasoned to a salty-sweet flavor and finished with kaffir lime leaves and holy basil leaves for freshness.
Deceptively simple, the recipe for battered, deep-fried unripe rice and grated coconut banana rolls (khao mao thaawt, ข้าวเม่าทอด) is actually quite challenging to master. Like so many Thai dessert recipes, this seemingly straightforward dish has a complex character.
Thai desserts are usually made from common ingredients and therefore very popular. However, it was only during the 17th century that desserts and sweets actually became part of everyday meals. In the old days, they were served only at auspicious occasions and ceremonies.
During wedding ceremonies, for example, four kinds of sweets are usually served, collectively known as “the four plates dessert” (ขนมสี่ถ้วย ; khanohm see thuay). The ancient Thai expression “To eat four cups of dessert” (กินสี่ถ้วย ; gin see thuay ) used in the central region of the kingdom as an idiom referring to a wedding banquet.
It will not be an overstatement to say that banana trees accompany Thai people from their birth to the afterlife. Starting with the decorative objects made out of banana leaves newborns receive to invite protective spirits, and continues their entire life with the endless uses for banana leaves, trunks and fruits; finally ending with the female spirit ghost, maae praai taanee (แม่พรายตานี), who resides in banana trees and Thai beliefs.
For the khanohm jeen saao naam version that we present today, we turn again to the writing of Thanpuying (Lady) Gleep Mahithaawn for her unique take on the dish. Her version is quite similar to the common recipe encountered nowadays, but Lady Gleep enhances it with more ingredients, elevating the dish yet another notch to the level of a majestic masterpiece.
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Gain access to NEW MONTHLY masterclasses as they become available.
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When you design or build a new menu for an event or restaurant or even prepare for dinner with friends.
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