White Curry

Ingredients

• 2 shallots (about 2 ounces), roughly chopped
• 2-3 medium cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1” length fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin seed
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 pound pork butt (or chicken thighs), cut into large cubes
• 4 medium kaffir lime leaves
• 1” length of galangal
• 1 stalk of lemongrass, white part only, smashed with a blunt object
• 1-2 green bird chilies, split (optional)
• 1 can coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons palm sugar (you can substitute regular sugar)
• ½ pound small eggplants, peeled then cut into cubes
• 1 pack enoki mushrooms
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1. 1
   Add the shallots, garlic, ginger, salt, coriander, and cumin to a food processor and process until you have a relatively smooth paste that’s free of any chunks.
2. 2
   Sprinkle a generous amount of salt on the meat. Heat a heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat until hot. Add the oil, and then add the meat. Let the meat brown on one side, then turn it over and brown the other side. Transfer the meat to a bowl and repeat if necessary to brown the rest of the meat.
3. 3
   Add the spice paste to the hot oil, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Once the spice paste is very fragrant (but not browned ), add the lime leaves, galangal, lemongrass and chilies and continue frying until you can smell the lime leaves.
4. 4
   Add the coconut milk and palm sugar, and then return the meat to the pot. Cover loosely with a lid and gently simmer over medium-low heat until the meat is tender (about 1 hour for chicken, 2 hours for pork).
5. 5
   Add the enoki mushrooms and eggplant and cook uncovered until the eggplant is tender and the curry has slightly thickened. Remove the lime leaves, galangal, lemongrass, and chilies, and then add the cream. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.