Cambodian Inspired Coconut & Peanut Butter Pork Belly Curry

Serves 4-5

Takes 2 hours 30 minutes

An alternative to a classic curry, packed with fragrant flavours that work terrifically with melt-in-your-mouth, chunks of slow cooked pork belly. It takes a little while but with it being all in one pot, it really is a rather simple meal to make. A properly warming dish that will stave off these colder wintery evenings. Add extra chilli if you really want to put some hairs on your chest!

1. Preheat your oven to 180C fan.
2. Pour the olive oil into a large Dutch oven or very deep pot, set on a medium heat and place in the pork belly chunks to brown on all sides. (You may have to do this is batches depending on the size of your pot). Remove and set aside.
3. Add in the Thair red curry paste and fry in the residual pork fat for 4 minutes until cooked out – you should start to see the oils separate which means its ready.
4. Add the sliced onions along with the pinch of salt and fry until softened and golden, turn the heat down slightly so they don’t catch.
5. Add in the garlic, 3 of the birds eye chillies, kaffir limes leaves, ground coriander and ground cumin. Fry for one minute until the flavours are smelling fragrant and the bottom of the pot begins to feel a little dry.
6. Pour in the coconut milk, stock, soy sauce, fish sauce, palm sugar and spoon in the peanut butter, stir well to combine. Scrape any caught bits from the bottom of the pan – its all flavour.
7. Squeeze in the lime juice at this stage and adjust the seasoning to your taste. If you feel it needs a little more sugar then add it in, the sweetness cooks out when in the oven so it is always best for it to be a little on the sweeter side at this stage.
8. Add the browned pork belly back in and stir well to combine. Increase the heat slightly and bring to the boil, letting it blip away for 5 minutes.
9. Pop a lid on and place in the oven for 2 hours.
10. Remove from the oven and take off the lid, allow to cool for 5 minutes then tip in the beansprouts. You want these to simply warm through but stay crunchy.
11. Serve over jasmine rice, garnish with the chopped coriander, the final birds eye chilli and crushed peanuts. Finish with a couple of lime wedges on the side (optional). Enjoy!

• 2kg boneless pork belly, cut into thick 2 inch chunks
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
• 1 large white onion, thinly sliced
• Pinch of salt
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 3 kaffir lime leaves, bruised and thinly sliced
• 4 birds eye chillies, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tin of coconut milk
• 100ml coconut cream
• 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
• 500ml chicken stock
• 100g palm sugar
• 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 lime, juiced
• 300g beansprouts
• Handful of coriander, roughly chopped
• 1 limes, cut into wedges
• Handful of peanuts, roughly crushed