Dry Pork Curry (干咖喱猪肉）

It was a lazy weekend and I decided to cook a dish that we can actually finish the whole plate of  rice with it. Curry pork came into my mind and it was really easy both in preparation and cooking. The sauce is so thick like what I wanted it to be and the spiciness was enough to heat up every single cell in the body! We loved it though because it goes really well with rice and the flavour can easily spice up your taste buds in seconds.  

Ingredients:

200g Pork (with bone or boneless, cut into big chunks)

1 Onion (sliced)

1tbsp Minced garlic

1tbsp Minced shallots

1tbsp Minced ginger

1tbsp Curry powder (I used Baba's, Adabi is less hot in my opinion)

1tbsp Chilli powder (reduce to suit personal taste)

1tsp Turmeric powder (optional)

2tbsp Coconut milk powder

4tbsp Evaporated milk

500ml Water

1/4tsp Sugar

1/2tsp Salt (adjust to personal taste)

3tbsp Cooking oil

Steps:

1. Heat a pan at medium heat. Add cooking oil into the pan and followed by onion slices. Stir fry the onions until they are softened. 

2. Add garlic, shallots, ginger and fry until fragrant.

3. Make a well in the middle of the pan and add curry powder, chilli powder and turmeric powder. 

4. Stir gently for 10-15 seconds until fragrant (it is right when your nose starts to feel itchy!)

5. Add in pork and stir fry until the meat turns into white colour on the outside.

6. Pour the water into a large bowl and stir in the coconut milk powder until no lumps. Pour the mixture into the pan from sides. Stir well and bring it to a boil. Continue simmering with lid on for about 20 minutes.

7.  Remove the lid and add the evaporated milk. Stir well and continue simmering without lid for 10 minutes or until the sauce reaches the desired thickness.

Ready to serve ^^

Tips:

• This is a healthier version of curry because only small amount of coconut milk is added. If you like a richer flavour you can always swap the evaporated milk at the end with a thick coconut milk mixture - mix 3tbsp of coconut milk powder with 6tbsp of water OR add 40ml fresh coconut milk straight away.

• The powdered spices can absorb plenty of oil but do not bother to add gallons of oil. You will get a better fragrance if you keep frying. The main point is keep stirring to make sure they mix well in the pan and not getting burnt. 

Kare Katsu (Japanese Curry with Pork Chop) 日本咖喱猪扒饭

Japanese curry is one of my favourite because of the tangy gravy which goes very well with any ingredients and most importantly white rice. There are choices of mild, medium and hot (or extra hot on some brands) for the curry cubes. I always go for mild or medium because Japanese curry is not meant to be hot in my opinion. You can add any vegetable into the curry and that will create a nutritious meal! I like it with tonkatsu (fried pork chop) too! When the crispiness of the pork chop meets the marvellous thick curry sauce, mmm...you will only know how it feels when you eat it. 

Fried Pork Chop

Ingredients: (serves 2)

2 Pork loin (1-1.5cm thick)

2tbsp Plain flour

1 egg

4-5 tbsp bread crumbs (Nama panko)

salt and pepper for seasoning

3 tbsp cooking oil

Steps:

1. Remove the thick fat at the edge of the pork loins. If your loin is too thick you can cut horizontally from the non-fat side and stop before the fat edge to form a butterfly chop. Make a few cuts on the meat and pound it for 30 times to make a tender texture. Season the meat with some salt and pepper on both sides.

2. Prepare three dry plates. Add plain flour on one plate, one beaten egg on the second plate, and bread crumbs on the third plate. 

• Place the meat in the flour and make a thin layer of flour covering both sides of the meat. 
• Dunk it into the egg and flip over to cover the other side with egg. 
• Transfer the meat to the third plate and make sure both sides of the meat are covered with bread crumbs.

3. Heat a pan and add in the cooking oil. Add in the pork chop and fry on a medium heat for about 2 minutes on one side or check and flip when it is golden brown. Fry until both sides are golden and place it on kitchen towel to remove excessive oil. Do the same to the rest of the meat.

Japanese Curry

Ingredients: (serves 2)

50g Chicken breast (diced)

1 Potato (diced)

1/2 Carrot (diced)

1 Onion (diced)

1 clove Garlic (minced)

2 cubes Japanese Curry cubes (I used S&B medium hot curry cubes)

200ml water

1/2 tsp Oyster sauce

1 tbsp cooking oil

soy sauce and sugar to taste

Steps:

1. Heat a pot at medium heat and add the cooking oil. Add the onion and garlic. Fry until fragrance and add the chicken. Stir fry until the meat turns white. 

2. Add the carrot, potato and oyster sauce. Stir well.

3. Pour in all the water and bring to boil. 

4. Add the curry cubes into the stew and stir gently until the cube is completely melted to form the sauce. 

5. Continue simmering until the vegetables are all soften and you get the thickness of gravy you like. 

6. Add some soy sauce and sugar to taste. 

7. Prepare some of hot steamed rice on a plate, place the fried pork chop (cut into strips) at one side, scoop some curry and pour over the rice and pork chop. Serve immediately and enjoy!