Red Curry with Pork Belly and Green Beans (Thai Phat Phrik Khing Muu)

In rural Thailand kids learn how to make curry paste at a young age, sitting on the ground with their legs wrapped around the mortar and pestle. Phat Phrik Khing Muu belongs to a category of curries called "dry curry"; it's caramelized in pork fat rather than cracked coconut cream, and there's no coconut milk added to make a gravy. This means it's all about the paste, bright red and blistering from a load of dried chiles. Without coconut to soften them out, the flavours of the paste - citrusy lemongrass, gingery krachai, briny shrimp - are more pronounced. Beginning with a fresh, well-balanced paste, and then paying close attention so it doesn't burn, are definitely key. And while American cooks might find it counterintuitive to plunge pork belly into hot water, boiling and then browning the fatty meat gives it an excellent texture: crispy outside, soft within.

Paste:
12 dried puya chiles, stemmed and roughly chopped
8 dried red Thai chiles or chiles de árbol, stemmed and roughly chopped
⅓ cup small dried shrimp, rinsed and drained
2 Tbsp. Tbsp. roughly chopped cilantro root or stems
1½ tsp. sea salt
8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
6 small Asian shallots or 2 medium regular shallots, roughly chopped
6 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 (4") piece krachai, peeled and thinly sliced or ¼ cup frozen, defrosted and roughly chopped
1 (2") piece galangal, peeled and thinly sliced

Curry:
½ lb pork belly, skin on
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp. fish sauce, preferably Tiparos brand
1½ tsp. pickled green peppercorns, lightly crushed
¾ tsp. palm sugar, grated
5 fresh or frozen Kaffir lime leaves, roughly torn
6 fresh green Thai chiles, stemmed and halved
1 (3") piece krachai, peeled and grated or 3 Tbsp. frozen, defrosted and roughly chopped
½ lb long beans or regular green beans, trimmed and cut into 2" pieces
1 cup fresh basil leaves, preferably Thai, packed

To Serve:
cooked jasmine rice

Make the Paste:
Place chiles in a bowl and cover with 2 cups boiling water; let sit until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain chiles, reserving 5 Tbsp. liquid. Place chiles in a small food processor with dried shrimp, cilantro root, salt, garlic, shallots, lemongrass, krachai, and galangal; pulse until roughly chopped. Add reserved liquid; purée until smooth. Set ½ cup aside; refrigerate remaining paste for future use up to 2 weeks.

Make the Curry:
Bring pork and 6 cups water to a boil in a 4 qt saucepan over high heat. Cook until pork is tender, about 45 minutes. Transfer pork to an ice bath. Drain, dry completely, and discard skin; cut pork into 1" pieces about ½" thick and set aside.

Heat a 12" skillet or 13" wok over medium-high heat and add pork pieces. Cook, turning as needed, until browned on all sides and fat is rendered, about 12 minutes. Add garlic; cook until beginning to brown, 1-2 minutes. Stir in the ½ cup curry paste; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add fish sauce, peppercorns, palm sugar, lime leaves, chiles, krachai, and ⅔ cup water; bring to a boil. Add beans; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in basil. Serve with jasmine rice on the side.

Makes 4-6 servings.