Recipes

Sliced Pork with Bamboo Shoots in Red Chili Sauce

Pad Ped Moo Sai Naw Mai

Thin-sliced pork and bamboo shoots stir-fried in herbaceous red curry paste

Prep

5 min

Cook

2 min

Serves

4

Heat

hot

Pad Ped Moo gets its distinctive character from a basic red curry paste built on fresh lemongrass, galangal, coriander root, and shallot, but it's the addition of finger root — a sharp, slightly medicinal root also called Chinese key — and torn kaffir lime leaf that give the dish its unmistakable herbaceous edge. Bamboo shoots and a little carrot add texture and mild sweetness against the pungent chili paste, and the whole thing comes together in barely two minutes once the pork and paste have had their initial fry. It's a dish built for pure speed once the prep is done, meant to be eaten hot over rice right away.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Pork tenderloin (sliced very thin)
• 2 cups Bamboo shoots (rinsed and drained if canned)
• 4 tablespoons Finger root (cut into very thin strips)
• 2 Thai long chili (sliced)
• 14 small pieces Carrot (cut into small pieces)
• 4 Kaffir lime leaves (torn into pieces)
• 6 Thai hot chilies (chopped, to taste)
• 4 tablespoons Basic red curry paste
• 4 tablespoons Oyster sauce
• 4 teaspoons Light soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons Sugar

Directions

1. Slice the pork thin. Rinse canned bamboo shoots well. Cut the finger root into thin strips. Slice the mild chili and chop the hot chili. Tear the kaffir lime leaves into pieces. Organize everything before you start, since the dish moves fast.
2. Heat oil in a wok and add the pork. Stir continuously and fry until nearly cooked through.
3. Stir in the curry paste and hot chili. Fry together until smooth and the mixture looks dry.
4. Add a splash of water to loosen the chili paste into a light sauce. Cook until hot again.
5. Add the finger root and stir in well.
6. Add the bamboo shoots, carrot, and mild chili. Stir well and fry for a few seconds.
7. Add the sugar and soy sauce, stirring and frying until the sugar melts.
8. Add the oyster sauce and stir in well, frying until smooth.
9. Add just enough water to loosen everything into a small amount of sauce. Stir well and let it get hot, then stir in the kaffir lime leaf pieces and remove from heat.
10. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Notes

Have every ingredient chopped and measured before you start cooking — the actual frying happens in just a couple of minutes, leaving no time to prep mid-cook.

Substitutions

Chicken breast or leg meat works just as well as pork here with no other changes needed.