Hot Stuff

I think it's safe to say that we are a little obsessed with heat in this house. I have an entire shelf in the refrigerator door dedicated to hot stuff. Sriracha, garlic chili paste, pickled hot peppers, jalapeno stuffed olives, and, of course, Frank's Red Hot (which you can buy by the gallon at Sam's Club, just in case you didn't know).

When Marx Foods offered the opportunity to test drive a selection of dried chilies, I signed right up. I got a fun little box full of goodies, and over the Thanksgiving weekend E, his little sister D Money, and I whipped up some slammin' dinner. D Money and her dad don't cook much, but they love to eat, so when E and I are in town we try to fix them up something special. It's not always easy thanks to my teenage sister in law's aversion to olives, stinky cheese, coconut, and mushrooms. My favorites! But we made it work, and guess what? Homegirl digs coconut now. I loved this dish, and will definitely make it again. The curry could be done with sliced chicken or shrimp to make it a quick one pot meal, and the pork would make amazing sandwiches.


Slow Cooker Japones Pulled Pork with Thai Red Curry 

For the pork:
Ingredients:

1 3 lb. pork shoulder
1/2 c. low sodium soy sauce
1 c. water
1 tsp. freshly ground ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbls. brown sugar
2 Tbls. honey
6-8 Dried Japones Chilies
salt and pepper

Preparation:
Place dried chilies in a spice or coffee grinder and pulse until finely ground, reserve 2 tsp. for the curry. Season pork with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with ground chilies and place in a crock pot. Whisk remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over pork. Cover and cook on low heat for 6 hours or high heat for 4 hours. Shred pork and toss with sauce to coat.

For the curry:
Ingredients:

2 tsp. ground Japones Chilies
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 c. sugar snap peas
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup cashews, chopped
1 14.5 oz. can coconut milk
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
2-3 Tbls red curry paste (depending on taste)
1 Tbls. brown sugar
1/3 c. fresh basil, julienned
1 lime, juiced
salt

Preparation:
In a large saute pan, whisk curry paste with 1/4 cup of the coconut milk over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and add peppers and sugar snap peas. Reduce heat to low and simmer 3-4 minutes. Add remaining coconut milk, tomatoes, and ground chilies and continue to simmer until vegetables are just tender. Add brown sugar, basil, lime juice, and salt to taste. Serve over long grain brown or basmati rice, top with pulled pork, and garnish with cashews and scallions.

*Note: This was just enough heat for D Money, but the rest of us needed more. When I make this again, I'll use more red curry paste and dried chilies. Just remember, E once drank a bottle of Frank's Red Hot straight, so we like it spicy.

This post is linked to:
Hearth and Soul 
Tuesday Night Supper Club
Tasty Tuesdays