Pork Vindaloo, made with SN1

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

Vindaloo comes from Goa, in south-west India — a Western-influenced curry shaped by Portugal, the former colonial power there.

Vindaloo is known for being sweet and sharp at once, and there are many ways of getting that flavour, differing from recipe to recipe and cook to cook. When we asked ourselves what an Inspice vindaloo would be, we settled on working the sweetness out of the onion.

Half of one onion is grated; the other half is sliced.

The grated half goes into the marinade for the meat; the sliced half is cooked to deep golden brown, and the two are brought back together. For the marinade we borrowed from the sauce at a well-known steak restaurant.

As for how it tastes — it is extremely good. Make it and see.

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
• Pork shoulder loin, in a piece: 400g
• Tomato (diced): 1
• Onion (sliced): 1/2
• Shio-kōji (salted rice malt): 1 tbsp
• Sugar: 2 tsp
• ☆Marinade
• Soy sauce: 3 tbsp
• Vinegar: 2 tbsp
• Onion (grated): 1/2
• Garlic (grated): 1 clove
• Ginger (grated): 1 knob
• Salt: as needed
• Water: 150ml
• Oil: 3 tbsp (use whichever oil you like. For this recipe we recommend rice bran oil or light sesame oil)

Preparation

• Mix all of the marinade ingredients together, work them into the pork shoulder loin cut into bite-sized pieces, and leave it in the fridge for 1 hour.

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 the cardamom (the green pods) begins to puff up, add the onion (sliced): 1/2 and a pinch of salt, turn the heat to high and fry for about 12 minutes, adding a splash of water as you go, until the onion is deep golden brown.
3. Turn the heat to medium, add the marinated pork shoulder loin, bring it to the boil, then fry for about 2 minutes.
4. Add the powder spices and fry them briefly, thinking of it as cooking the spices through.
5. Add the sugar: 2 tsp, shio-kōji: 1 tbsp, diced tomato: 1 and water: 150ml, stir everything together, then put a lid on the pan and simmer over a low heat for 20 minutes.
6. Take the lid off, stir so as to crush the tomato, taste it, adjust with salt if it needs it, and it is done.

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.