Tuesday, November 30, 2010

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

14 comments:

Pattie @ Olla-Podrida said...

I LOVE curry! This recipe sounds delicious. I should not read this stuff so early in the morning, now all I can think about is dinner.

Tina said...

Hope you get the camera issue straightened out but even without photos, nice post :-) Probably a bit too hot for my sissified tummy but I can appreciate the meal.

Kirby said...

I bet this was soo good! I love anthing that has pork shoulder in it!

Michelle said...

Congratulations on the baby! And thanks so much for letting me know that I won candy giveaway! I love making candy and I know I will enjoy the candy kit when we're knee deep in snow this winter.

Sense of Home Kitchen said...

This looks like a terrific recipe, we love it hot and spicy. I will be bookmarking this. Thanks

-Brenda

Anonymous said...

Sounds awesome! I have definitely flagged this one for future reference! Had to chuckle - sounded like you were reading off what's in our fridge with all the hot stuff. :)

Joanne said...

An Asian version of pulled pork...genius! I'm a huge spice fan also. Bring it on!

Miz Helen said...

Your Slow Cooker "Hot Stuff" looks so good. Thank you for sharing the recipe and you have a good week.

Jacky Hackett said...

This looks delicious, love that it is a slow cooker recipe too. Good luck!

The Wise Alternative 918-836-0565 said...

Pork and hot were all I had to hear..... Sounds delicious!! Thanks for sharing with the Hearth and Soul hop.

cheryl@scrapaddict4sure said...

this sounds good to me I like recipes
with curry in them and thank you for linking up with me!

The Food Hunter said...

great recipe

Unknown said...

i love the slow cooker recipes...and this one really packs a punch. i am a spice fan too...so i know i will love this. thank you for sharing with tuesday night supper club!

Christy said...

I was sweating just reading the ingredients - too hot for me, but I know some crazy hot loving people who would go bonkers for this! Thanks for linking this to the Hearth and Soul Hop!