Pork and Nira Curry, made with SN1

SPICE CURRY SPICE PACK (Spice Curry Spice Pack Symphony No.1 / SN1) — a pork and nira curry.

Pork and nira (garlic chives) is widely held to be the great pairing for shaking off tiredness, as many people will know. Put the spices alongside it and you have quite a combination.

We wanted to make a really good pork and nira curry with proper spices, and tried a good many things along the way. The recipe that came out of it is excellent.

The trick is to finish the nira as though steaming it, so that it keeps a good part of its crispness.

For the pork, we use thin-cut offcuts — a cook’s friend.

When your spice curry turns out watery Are the whole spices in the starter spices meant to be eaten? Which spice do you add when you want more heat?

Ingredients (serves 4)

• SN1 / starter spices (the whole-spice sachet): 1 sachet
• SN1 / powder spices (the ground-spice sachet): 1 sachet
• Tinned tomatoes (whole): 1 tin (400g)
• Onion: 1/2
• Nira (garlic chives): 1 bunch
• Naganegi (Japanese long onion): 1
• Ginger (grated): 1 tbsp
• Thin-cut pork offcuts: 200g
• Soy sauce: 1 tbsp
• Sugar: 1 tsp
• Salt: 1 tsp
• Oyster sauce: 2 tsp
• Oil: 3 tbsp (use whichever oil you like. For this recipe we recommend rice bran oil or light sesame oil)
  
  

Preparation

• Grate the ginger.
  
  

  If you do not have a grater, chop it finely instead

  
  
• Chop the onion: 1/2 finely.
• Cut the nira: 1 bunch into 5cm lengths.
• Cut the naganegi: 1 on the diagonal.

Method

1. Put the “oil: 3 tbsp” into a pan over a low heat, and once the oil is warm, add the starter spices (the whole-spice sachet).
   
   
   
   
2. When you hear the “mustard seeds (the small black ones)” start to crackle, add the grated ginger and fry for about 30 seconds, stirring it through the spices.
   
   
3. Add the onion, stir it thoroughly through the spices, then turn the heat to high and cook it until deep golden brown, adding a splash of water often.
   
   
4. Turn the heat to medium, add the “pork: 200g” and “salt: 1 tsp” and fry until the pink has mostly gone.
   
   

   Frying the pork too hard makes the meat tough in the finished dish, so a light touch is enough

   
   
   
5. Push the ingredients to one side, add the “tinned tomatoes (whole): 1 tin (400g)”, soy sauce: 1 tbsp, sugar: 1 tsp and oyster sauce: 2 tsp, crush the whole tomatoes down well, then stir everything together.
   
   
6. Bring it to the boil, then add all of the “powder spices” and stir them in, thinking of it as cooking the powder spices themselves.
   
   
7. Lay the naganegi: 1 and then the nira: 1 bunch lightly on top of the curry sauce, in that order, then turn the heat to low, put a lid on the pan and simmer for about 5 minutes.
   
   
   
   
8. Stir everything together, taste it and adjust the salt.
   
   

And that is it.

Buy the spice packs here

Inspice spice curry spice sets contain none of the usual sources of heat — chilli, cayenne pepper or chilli powder — so please add heat to your own taste.