These green curry meatballs with coconut embody the flavours of Southeast Asia have become part of the North American palate, and people love Thai curry, whether fiery hot green, aromatic red or mild but still exotic yellow.
Decades ago, I started going to Asian grocery stores, asking for advice and buying the different spices and mixes, including a plastic tub of green curry paste that I now always have on hand. A few years ago, Anna and I were cooking at a hotel in Bangkok, and I had the opportunity to hang out with the room service chef as an observer. I got excited when an order came in for green curry and thought it would be my chance to see the real deal made from scratch, but she pulled out the same white tub of curry paste that I use back home!
- Chef Michael Olson
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Excerpted from Living High Off the Hog: Over 100 Recipes and Techniques to Cook Pork Perfectly by Michael Olson. Copyright © 2019 Michael Olson. Photography by Janis Nicolay. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
Yield: Serves 4
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 lb (450 g) ground Ontario pork
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) dry bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp (5 mL) fish sauce or salt
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp (30 mL) green curry paste (available at Asian grocery stores)**
- 1 can (14 oz/400 mL) coconut milk (any fat percentage)
- 1/4 lb (115 g) fresh green beans, cut in bite-sized pieces (about 1 cup/250 mL)
- 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 small carrot, peeled and diced
- Cooked jasmine rice, for serving
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/2 lime, cut in 4 wedges
Cooking Instructions:
- Mix the pork, bread crumbs, coconut, egg and fish sauce in a large bowl.
- Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Stir in the curry paste for 2 to 3 minutes to draw out the flavors. Stir in the coconut milk, bring up to a simmer and then add the green beans, bell pepper and carrot.
- Using a small ice-cream scoop or a spoon, portion and shape the pork mixture into meatballs and carefully drop them into the simmering liquid. Simmer in the sauce, uncovered (or the sauce with split), for 25 minutes. To test for doneness, break open a meatball— there should not be any visible pink, it should be firm to the touch on the outside and the internal temperature should be 165°F (74°C).
- Serve the meatballs with steamed jasmine rice and sprinkled with fresh cilantro and lime juice.
**You can buy a range of Thai curry pastes for home cooking. Yellow is mildest and gets its color from turmeric; red is in the middle, with red chilies; and green is the hottest, with plenty of green chilies, cilantro and coconut.
If your family is not into spicy hot, try this recipe with yellow curry paste to start.
Excerpted from Living High Off the Hog: Over 100 Recipes and Techniques to Cook Pork Perfectly by Michael Olson. Copyright © 2019 Michael Olson. Photography by Janis Nicolay. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.