My body was feeling ready to eat meat again. Jason requested pork curry again! He loves my rustic Japanese-style curry very much.
So, I got another big chunk of pork butt and did the deep donabe braising. This time, I tweaked my last recipe even further, and it became the best curry I'd made so far.
The meat was browned in a large saute pan and the grease was drained.
By sauteing in the donabe, the onion turns to sweet paste easily.
Meat and stock were added to the donabe and cooked in the oven for 1 hour. Vegetables were added and cooked 30 more minutes in the oven.
The piping hot curry in the donabe was served right at the table. The meat was fork-tender and the flavor was so harmonized and gorgeous. It was so wonderful with the donabe basmati rice. This is the magic of donabe cooking!
Here's the update recipe of my donabe pork curry. If you are making half of my recipe amount, I highly suggest you make it with the soup & stew donabe, "Miso-shiru" Nabe. I only used the classic all-purpose donabe because I made a large batch, but "Miso-shiru" Nabe could braise the stew even better!
Aromatic Pork Curry (Update version)
6-8 servings
Ingredients:
3 pouds pork butt, cut into large cubes
1 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1.5 tablespoons each olive oil and butter
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 large onions
4 cloves of garlic, grated
1 thumb-size knob of ginger, grated
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 generous tablespoons curry powder
2 bay leaves
3/4 cup kefir (or yogurt)
3.5 to 4 cups chicken stock
2 medium-size russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes
1 large carrot, peeled and cut diagonally
2 tablespoon garam masala
salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
1. Season the pork with salt and pepper in a bowl. Cover and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight. In a large saute pan, brown the meat. Drain the excess grease.
2. In a donabe, heat the olive oil and butter over medium-heat. Saute the cumin seeds until aromatic. Add the onion and continue to saute over medium-low heat for 45 minutes or until the onion is caramelized and almost like paste.
3. Add the garlic, ginger, cayenne pepper, turmeric, and curry powder. Continue to saute until aromatic. (about 2 minutes)
4. Add the browned pork and kefir. Stir.
5. Add the chicken stock and bay leaves. Stir.
6. Line the surface with a pice of parchment paper (make a small hole in the center), cover the donabe with a lid. Transfer the donabe to 325F-degree oven. Braise the meat in the oven for 1 hour.
7. Take the donabe out of the oven. Remove the parchment paper. Skim the grease on the surface.
8. Add the potato and carrot. Line the surface with a new piece of parchment paper. Cover with the lid and put the donabe back to the oven. Cook for 30 minutes or until both vegetables are tender.
9. Stir in the garam masala. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. stir again
10. Enjoy with your donabe basmati rice!
The wine pairing for tonight's curry was 2008 Patricius, Tokaji, Sarga Muskotaly (Hungary). Sarga Muskotaly is Yellow Muscat, and it's one of the four grapes grown in Tokaji region. It's got the intense aroma of tropical fruits, honey, etc. The palate was creamy and so rich. It's a big flavor dry wine...14% alcohol but still has a little residual sugar. The wine created the nice mariage with my deep-flavor donabe curry.
Happy donabe life.
