Ingredients

The following ingredients have 8 Servings
  • 750 g skinless boneless higher-welfare pork belly cut into finger-length strips
  • 750 g higher-welfare pork belly ribs halved
  • olive oil
  • 300 g Chinese long beans or green beans
  • 300 g pattypan squash
  • ½ a Chinese cabbage
  • 4 lime leaves
  • 2 x 400 g tins of light coconut milk
  • 500 g jasmine rice
  • 4 limes
  • 20 g fresh turmeric
  • 80 g galangal or ginger
  • 400 g small Thai shallots
  • 1 bulb of garlic
  • 2 fresh red bird's-eye chillies
  • 3 fresh red chillies
  • 5 candlenuts or macadamia nuts
  • 1 tablespoon each of black and white peppercorns
  • 50 g palm sugar
  • 1 teaspoon shrimp paste
  • 3 small Thai shallots
  • 2 fresh bird's-eye chillies
  • 3 kaffir lime leaves
  • 2 sticks lemongrass
  • 2 limes
  • coconut oil

Instruction

  • Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
  • To make the paste, peel and finely slice the fresh turmeric, then scrub and finely slice the galangal. Place in a dry frying pan for a few minutes, or until they start to release their oils, then turn the heat off.
  • Peel and finely slice the shallots and garlic, then deseed and roughly chop all the chillies. Slice the nuts.
  • Crush the peppercorns in a pestle and mortar, add all the other paste ingredients and a big pinch of sea salt, then bash and muddle everything together – work in batches, if you need to. Freeze half for another day.
  • Reserving 2 tablespoons of the remaining paste for later, place the rest in a large roasting tray. Add the meat and massage in all those lovely flavours. Drizzle with olive oil, then cover with a sheet of wet greaseproof paper and a layer of tin foil.
  • Cook in the oven for 2 hours, or until beautifully browned and gnarly, shaking the tray halfway and removing the greaseproof and foil for the final 30 minutes.
  • Chop the Chinese long beans into 7cm chunks (if using), halve the squash across the middle, then roughly shred the cabbage. Remove the meat tray from the oven and place over a medium heat on the hob. Stir in the veg, lime leaves, reserved paste and coconut milk, and gently mix together.
  • Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the veg are tender. Season to perfection.
  • Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the packet instructions, and prepare the sambal.
  • Peel the shallots and finely slice with the chillies and lime leaves. Bash the lemongrass, remove and discard the outer layer, then finely slice. Mix it all in a small bowl with the lime juice and a drizzle of coconut oil, then season to perfection.
  • Dish up the rice and curry, and serve the sambal on the side, with lime wedges for squeezing over.