Luang Prabang Pork and Eggplant Curry

This is one of my favorite Lao dishes to make. It is easy and does not take a lot of time. As some of the ingredients may be difficult to find, I will make some guess recommendations.

This is adapted from from Honeybees to Pepperwood, Creative Lao Cooking with Friends, by friends international

300 g fatty pork cut into cubes

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce
Black pepper

    1.  Marinate the pork in the oil, soy sauce and pepper for at least 30 minutes.

3 tablespoons preserved river fish eggs- I do NOT use this

6 garlic cloves, bruised  (I just slice the garlic into thin strips)

500 ml pork stock (I use whatever stock I have made recently)

6 shallots, cut into quarters

5 chilies halved lengthwise -I get rid of the seeds, too hot

50 g pea eggplant

50 g small apple eggplant  (this eggplant is similar to Japanese or the regular stuff, but it stays “fresher”, it doesn’t get soft. Same with the pea sized eggplant. I think you could use regular eggplant or even fresh squash/zucchini.).

4 snake beans, cut into 2 cm pieces

80 g boiled pork skin, cut into 1 cm strips (If I have bacon, I fry it with the garlic, otherwise I skip this one).

150 ml coconut cream

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

handful of Thai basil leaves

½ teaspoon sugar

2 young lemongrass stalks, bruised and cut into 6 pieces(I just whack it on the counter to bruise it? You do not have to eat the lemongrass when finished but it is IMPORTANT to the flavor of the dish!)

2.      Heat the oil in a medium sized pot and add the garlic and fry until fragrant. Add the fish eggs and fry for a minute, then add the pork stock and bring to a boil.

3.   Once the stock boils add the lemongrass, pork, shallots and pork skin. Simmer about 10 minutes until the meat is tender.

4.      Add the eggplants, beans, sugar and chilies and simmer for another 3 minutes. Add the coconut cream and basil and simmer until the curry becomes thick and creamy.