Name: Jungle Curry with Pork and Thai Eggplant
Yield: Makes 8 servings (as part of larger meal)
Ingredients: 1 lb Thai apple eggplants (see cooks' note, below); 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup vegetable oil; 1/4 to 1/2 cup Thai red curry paste; 1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin, halved lengthwise, then sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick; 1/3 cup julienne strips peeled fresh or frozen grachai (lesser galangal or wild ginger; thawed if frozen) or drained bottled grachai, rinsed, or ginger; 3 oz Chinese long beans or green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces; 8 canned baby corn, rinsed, drained, and halved lengthwise; 1 1/2 cups Thai chicken stock; 3 tablespoons nam pla (Asian fish sauce; preferably Thai); 5 (4-inch-long) fresh or frozen Kaffir lime leaves (sometimes called bai makroot); 1 fresh chee fah chile or 2 red jalapeño chiles, thinly sliced crosswise and seeds discarded; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 cup loosely packed bai grapao (holy basil leaves); Accompaniment: Thai pickled garlic (gratiam dong); a large (6-qt) wok

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Jungle Curry with Pork and Thai EggplantGEORGE WHITESIDE

Gaeng Pah Muu

Most curries from southern Thailand use coconut milk. This one, from the mountainous north, doesn't, because the climate is too temperate for coconut palms to survive. Don't be intimidated by the start-to-finish time; the curry paste and chicken stock can be made days ahead. Once you have those components at hand, the recipe only takes about 1 hour to put together. If you prefer your food less spicy, use the smaller amounts of curry paste and vegetable oil.

Active time: 3 1/4 hr Start to finish: 7 1/4 hr (includes making curry paste and stock)

Cooks' note:

Long slender Asian eggplant can be substituted for Thai apple eggplant. Thai apple eggplant is traditionally eaten raw or crisp-tender, but Asian eggplant needs to be precooked. Cut Asian eggplant into 1-inch cubes and toss with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, then bake in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan in a preheated 400°F oven until crisp-tender, about 12 minutes. Proceed with recipe.

Recipe notes

Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Spaghetti)

Spaghetti is a common variation in modern Thai cooking. It’s so easy to work with and absorbs the garlicky, spicy notes of pad kee mao well.

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