A week of travel and a madcap trip to the store on the way home from the airport left me last week with more than a few random ingredients and only a vague idea of what I was going to make! This was a time when my pantry saved me; I not only made this easy, family-friendly Curried Pork, but I also spun it four ways.
Curried Pork Stew – Leaning toward Thai.
I had grabbed a smallish sales-priced pork shoulder, and luckily, a craving for curry, a well-stocked pantry, and a little inspiration saved me. This absolutely simple little Pork Curry Stew recipe can be prepped in about 10 minutes and simmered until tender on the stove-top or in a slow cooker. The whole meal came in at about $4.85.
I’m calling this the little black dress of recipes – as is its delicious, with just a bit of a mild curry flavor (translate perfect family fare), and it can be easily tweaked, as you’ll see! I translated it into a Thai-leaning recipe, one with Island flavors, and a more authentic Indian version. And none of them broke the bank.
Curried Pork Stew – Indian Flavors with Cauliflower and Peas
Budget Tips:
This little dinner came in at a great price, about $4.85 plus a few pennies for the rice, but some of the variations below can easily lower the overall cost.
Fresh vegetables are often less than frozen, and adding them means either the more expensive meat can be cut back to serve the same number of people, or you’ll stretch the meal and get more servings. Plus, you need to eat your veggies!
Stretch a meal like this by adding a can of chickpeas in addition to vegetables.
Curried Pork Stew, from the Islands with Sweet Potatoes and Greens
Variations:
The flavor of the stew is lovely as is, easily nudged a bit in other directions with just a few minor changes. Your braising liquid will need to be about 1/2 inch below the level of the food in your pot, so more veggies may slightly alter the amount of liquid needed. Add a bit of broth or water, or a little more coconut milk if you need to raise the level.
- More Authentic: If you’d like to lean into Indian flavors, substitute a good Garam Marsala for the curry powder, add in a pinch of clove, a jalapeno or Serrano pepper, and garnish with cilantro and any of the classic curry accompaniments like a mango chutney, peanuts, or coconut. Cauliflower and peas would be marvelous in or along the dish.
- Island Flavor: Drop in a Scotch bonnet, add a good pinch of allspice, and a tablespoon of vinegar and a dash of soy sauce. A sweet potato or two or butternut squash cut into chunks and added to the stew would make this a more complete meal, and you can’t go wrong with tossing a few greens into the mix.
- Nudge towards Thai: sub the curry powder for a Thai curry paste, use the whole can of coconut milk, omit the tomatoes, and add in a splash of fish sauce, a pinch of sugar, a Serrano pepper, and the zest of lime. Liquid may need to be added to raise the level for braising. Add bell peppers, baby corn, or snow peas when the pork is nearly finished and simmer just until crisp/tender.
- Healthier: make with loin or sirloin rather than the original shoulder, and simmered until just tender. Chicken or Chickpeas would also make a marvelous substitution for the pork, and sturdy greens added in towards the end of the cooking would be in keeping with the flavors.
- Spicier: Add a few hot peppers, liberally pierced with a fork, be generous with the spicing. Use a less generic curry powder or a curry paste. Serve with a splash of Sriracha, a little chili powder, or garlic chili sauce will certainly liven things up a bit.
American Leaning and family friendly.
Curried Pork with Rice
An easy pork stew; gotta love a recipe that simmers away until you’re ready to eat.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish Pork
- Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 to 2 pounds pork loin or shoulder, cut into 1 1/2″ pieces
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1/2 to 1 tablespoon mild curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- chicken stock or low-sodium broth, water or additional coconut milk to bring the level of the braising liquid just below the level of the stew.
- Steamed rice, chopped cilantro, and sliced scallions, for serving
Instructions
In a Dutch oven, heat the oil. Season the pork with salt and pepper. Add the pork and brown it over moderately high heat, about five to six minutes. Set the pork aside.
Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat in the skillet. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, curry, cumin, and turmeric and cook over low heat, stirring, until fragrant and the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and their juices, coconut milk, and stock, bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Partially cover, leaving lid ajar. Simmer, stirring now and then, until pork is tender when pierced with a fork, about an hour to an hour and a half.
Serve the stew over rice in deep bowls, garnished with cilantro and scallions.
If desired, and using any of the variations in the above post, add vegetables at appropriate times. Hot Peppers should be added to simmer along with the pork and sauce at the beginning, sweet potatoes and potatoes after the pork has simmered 35 minutes or so, cauliflower and greens about 25 minutes before the dish is done (Cauliflower should be cut into fairly small florets), and frozen peas should be tossed on top and stirred in when the dish is done.
Nutrition:
Per serving, with no additional vegetables or rice: Calories 426, tot fat 19g; sat fat 6g; chol 160; sod 793mg; pot 1063mg; carb 10g; fiber 1g; vit a 10%; vit c 23%; calc 9%; iron 19%
19 thoughts on “Curried Pork with Rice – Four Ways”