Hainanese Pork and New Potato Curry - Recipe by Shu Han Lee

Ingredients

500 g pork shoulder, cut into 3 cm chunks
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
2 lemongrass stalks, bashed lightly
4 Tbs vegetable oil
200mL coconut milk
About 250mL water
250 g baby new potatoes, left whole, larger ones halved
3 Tbs light soy sauce, or to taste
2 tsp light brown sugar, or to taste

For the rempah (spice paste):

100 g shallots, roughly chopped
Thumb-sized piece (15 g) fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Big pinch of ?ne sea salt

Method

For the spice paste:

Pound the shallots, ginger and garlic using a pestle and mortar or whizz in a small blender until you get a ?ne paste, before mixing in the ground spices and salt. Coat the pork chunks with the spice paste and set aside to marinate for 15 minutes.

In a wok or shallow casserole pot (Dutch oven), fry the whole spices and lemongrass in the oil over medium heat for about 1 minute, to help release their fragrance.

Add the marinated pork, scraping in all the spice paste, then fry for about 10 minutes, or until the pork browns.

Next, stir in the coconut milk and enough of the water to just cover the pork. Bring to a gentle boil, then turn the heat down to low and cook, partially covered, for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Gently tip in the potatoes and season the curry with soy sauce and sugar. Pop the lid back on and cook for another 20 minutes, or until the pork and potatoes are very tender. Taste and adjust seasoning with more soy sauce or sugar, if you like.

Credits: This is an edited extract from Agak Agak: Everyday Recipes from Singapore by Shu Han Lee, published by Hardie Grant Books. Available in stores nationally from 4 July 2024, RRP$49.99.

Photo Credits: Photography by Ola O. Smit