Thai Red Pork Curry / Gaeng Phed Moo
Thai red pork curry (gaeng phed moo) is a delicious meal that you can easily make at home and adapt to your own taste preferences. With its vibrant red color and savory, spicy flavors, this recipe should be on your “must try” list, I believe you will love it.
Thailand, is a country that is famous for its flavorful curries. Generally, red curries are less fiery than the green curries and each taste is filled with a mixture of exotic and fragrant spices. The savory red curries are also less sweet than yellow curries and taste great when served with duck or pork.
My Thai inspired red curry recipe is full of tender thin slices of pork tenderloin, red bell peppers, onions, sweet coconut milk, aromatic lemongrass and fresh ginger. The savory sauce is finished with lime and Thai basil which impart a fresh and herbaceous note to the curry.
I know that not everyone has access to an Asian market but you should be able to find most, if not all, the ingredients needed for this recipe at your neighborhood supermarket. It’s important to choose a tender cut of pork as the thin slices of meat are cooked briefly to stay moist. I often use two substitutions when making this curry, lemongrass paste and fresh sweet Italian basil, both of which I buy in the produce department. If you have access to fresh Thai basil and fresh lemongrass, all the better.
The most important part of any Thai curry is the curry paste that you use as the base for the sauce. My curry sauce is made with store bought curry.paste but of course you can make your own. Red curry paste that is used in most recipes is a blend of lemongrass, galangal (Thai ginger), fresh red chilis, and fragrant spices. The spice level will vary depending on the brand of curry paste you choose to use. It’s best to taste it before you start adding it to your recipe. I suggest you start with a spoonful then continue to add until you find the level of spiciness that you, your family or guests will be comfortable with.
Thai Red Pork Curry / Gaeng Phed Moo
Serves 2 generously as a main course
- 8 oz. pork tenderloin, thinly sliced nto 1/4 inch wide strips
- 1 small onion, cut into thin slices
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin slices
- 1 small chili pepper, diced
- 1 to 4 Tbsp. Thai red curry paste* depending on spiciness desired
- 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp. grated fresh lemongrass or lemongrass paste
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable or peanut oil
- 1 can coconut milk (full fat is best)
- 1/2 c. chicken or vegetable stock, more if needed
- 1 Tbsp. fish sauce, or to taste
- 1 lime, 1/2 for the curry and the other half to serve on the side
- 5 – 6 green onions (scallions), sliced into 1″ pieces
- 1 handful Thai basil leaves, sweet basil can be substituted
- jasmine rice, for serving along side, optional
- cucumber salad to serve on the side, optional
Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the pork and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or just until the pork is cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Sauté the onions and peppers about a minute then add the curry paste, cook and stir for about 2 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and lemongrass and cook for 30 seconds. Add coconut milk and stir until well combined. Add the broth and fish sauce and cook until sauce thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. Add additional broth if needed. Return pork to the pot and warm through. Take off the heat and add the green onion, basil and juice from 1/2 a lime. Serve immediately along with rice and sliced cucumbers if desired.
Thai basil has purple stems, dark green leaves and a bolder, spicier flavor than sweet Italian basil.
If using lemongrass paste, use 1 tablespoon paste to replace 1 tablespoon minced lemongrass,
While the fragrance isn’t as intense, lemon zest is the closest ingredient to lemongrass. You can substitute about 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest for the lemongrass paste in this recipe if needed.
Be sure to use full fat coconut milk. The sauce won’t have the same smooth, thick consistency with the reduced fat variety.
Turn off the heat when you stir in the basil leaves. The basil will loose its aroma if overcooked
I use chicken stock in my recipe for a more soup like curry sauce. If you prefer a thick coconut curry sauce, the stock can be omitted.
notes from the kitchen
****
Red pork curry served with jasmine rice and a cooling cucumber salad is a flavorful meal to serve any time of the year. I like all kinds of cuisines and always try to keep my pantry stocked with different kinds of curry pastes, coconut milk, and lemongrass paste for when I feel like having Thai food as we don’t have a good Thai restaurant in our town. Perhaps you have a similar situation. If so and you want a quick and easy Thai inspired meal, give this recipe a try.
I love dishes like this one. So exotic and full of flavor. Happy New Year Karen.
The vibrant color of that curry sauce! Looks and sounds so good, Karen. Hope your New Year is off to a great start! 🙂
Looks very good. We’ve never cooked Thai but this may inspire me to give it a try. Larry
We love Thai curries and it is a good time of year for me to get going and make my pastes for the freezer. (I usually make red, yellow, and green.) Pork tenderloin is the perfect choice for stir fries and curries as it is so tender and low in fat. Love this dish!
It’s been a long time since I’ve had a curry dish. I love the ingredients you used in your recipe and hope to try it one day after I make a run to the Asian grocery across town. I always have a hard time finding lemongrass, thanks for enlightening me to lemongrass paste. I will look for it.
Sounds delicious, Karen.
I will love this indeed and have good access to Thai and Asian food shops for the ingredients!
Karen, I wish you lived around the corner. This recipe is remarkably quick to make and looks delicious, but I’m still in the grip of flu and it’s all too much effort. Will definitely give this a go when I rally.
I’m saving this recipe, Karen! The past looks so good.
We don’t have good Thai restaurant here…
This looks delicious Karen. Thank you for posting it.
This sounds delicious, Karen. I love curries like this but rarely make them. I must give this a try!
Mmm… Karen, I do love the flavours and the mouthfeel of a curry with Thai origins made with coconut milk or coconut cream.
Love a curry! And you can use so many other things in place of the pork.
Beautiful! love Thai, must try to grow some Thai basil.
Anything served with jasmine rice works very well at our house! Thanks for sharing the recipe with me!
Karen, this is a beautiful dish that sounds flavorful and I agree with Mary, jasmine rice works very well at our house, too! Thanks for sharing.
I love the flavours here karen. Thai dishes have that lovely freshness about them!
I adore Thai curry! This looks so flavourful and delicious.
angiesrecipes
http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com
I’ll be saving this recipe, too.There is no Thai restaurant (or well-stocked grocery stores) near us and thank goodness I can order some things.
What a beautiful dish Karen!
Jenna
This looks fragrant and delicious! I don’t eat curry much, but I do like it.
What a delicious curry! Thanks for all the background info.
Sounds delicious, Karen. I love the vibrant color too. Thank you again for always coming up with such wonderful ideas that aren’t too difficult to make.
We adore Thai food and just recently got introduced to red curry paste. Green curry has always been a favourite but the red comes in a close second. I try to make my own curry paste to control the heat but it’s not always ideal, the packaged pastes are a great time saver.
This dish looks delicious. I love Asian recipes you can make at home.
Spicy, flavor packed food is perfect on a chilly day!!! Your curry would hit the spot!!
This red pork curry recipe looks super easy! Perfect for a weeknight when I’m feeling lazy but still want something flavorful.
This is one of my favourite curries. Thai cuisine is so phenomenal! I love that you made the curry paste from scratch 🙂
Laura has a good friend/co-worker from Thailand, and she’s taught us how to make all sorts of fun curries. We are lucky in that a new Asian grocery store popped up near us recently. We haven’t had the chance to go in yet, but this post is giving me ideas… 🙂
This looks so flavorful. Hoping my potted lemongrass makes it through the winter!
Another great recipe. Thanks Karen!
This sounds and looks really good. Nice reminder that flavorful dishes don’t have to be complicated.
A jar of curry paste in the pantry or fridge is a godsend. I turns most anything in your fridge into a sublime dinner with a big mound of fluffy rice.