Thai Red Curry, Pork Belly,Green Beans & Jasmine Rice
Pork belly's fat cuts through coconut milk without getting cloying. Fish sauce, fermented paste, and whole bird chilies for the funk you want. Jasmine rice is the right vehicle — not white.
Active~20 min
Holds4–5 days
DifficultyEasy
Per Serving36P · 40C · 30F · 566 kcal
Servings
Base is 4 servings (1 batch). Can share pork belly batch with Dinner 5.
Ingredients
Per Serving
Pork belly (cooked, from batch)
Green beans, trimmed
Jasmine rice, dry
Thai Red Curry (batch — 4 servings)
Red curry paste (Thai Kitchen, not mild)
Coconut milk (14oz can)
Chicken or vegetable stock
Fish sauce
Palm sugar (or brown sugar)
Lime juice
Thai bird chilies (whole)
Kaffir lime leaves (or zest of 1 lime)
Ginger, sliced
Garlic cloves, smashed
Neutral oil
Thai basil (optional garnish)
Method
1
Bloom the Paste (Sunday)
Heat oil in a pot over medium. Add curry paste, cook 2–3 min until fragrant and the oil separates from the paste. This blooms the paste and is non-negotiable — raw curry paste is flat. You'll see the color deepen and smell the lemongrass and galangal open up.
2–3 min
2
Build the Curry Base
Add coconut milk slowly, stirring to fully incorporate the paste (no lumps). Add stock, fish sauce, palm sugar, ginger, garlic. Simmer gently 10 min. Add kaffir lime leaves and whole bird chilies. Taste: balanced heat, funk from fish sauce and fermented paste, sweetness from coconut. Adjust fish sauce or sugar as needed.
~12 minThe whole chilies are flavor, not just heat. Leave them in. Warn anyone who's not you to avoid biting into them.
3
Add Pork Belly + Finish
Add already-cooked pork belly to the curry (just heating through), simmer 5 min. Finish with lime juice. Taste again. The lime should brighten everything without making it tart.
5 min
4
Green Beans
Blanch in well-salted boiling water 4 min — keep them al dente. Shock in ice water, drain. Add to curry 2 min before serving, or keep separate and add fresh for better texture. They soften fast in the curry so don't add too early.
4 min blanch
5
Rice + Plate
Jasmine rice at 1:1.5 ratio — fluffier than white rice, slightly fragrant. Spoon curry and pork belly over. Scatter green beans. Thai basil if you have it. Whole chilies stay in the bowl as a warning.
Batch & Storage
Shared Pork Belly BatchIf you're making Dinner 5 (Sichuan braise) the same week, you can braise a single larger belly batch and pull from it for both. The belly works in either curry — though the Sichuan-braised version will carry those spices into the Thai curry. If you want them cleanly separate, braise separately.
Curry Holds 4–5 DaysFlavors meld and improve. Store pork belly and curry together, rice separate, green beans separate. Reheat curry gently — don't boil or the coconut milk breaks.
Green BeansBest added fresh day-of for crunch. If batching, keep them lightly undercooked — they'll soften further when reheated in the curry.
Jasmine vs. White RiceUse jasmine. The fragrance and texture are part of the dish. 1:1.5 rice-to-water, rinse first, rest off heat 10 min before fluffing.