Curried Cabbage and Ground Pork

The fridge [the real one in my kitchen, not the store across the street that we’ve lovingly nicknamed] is emptier than it usually is. I swear you’d never know I cooked on a regular basis. There happened to be a few things from 2010 hanging out in there. Gross. In the midst of general paring down/cleaning, we cleaned out a ton of general kitchen-y goods that will be going to a new home tomorrow—plates, glasses, silverware, etc. It’s stuff you somehow collect over the past three years. I’m convinced it multiplies like rabbits.

It’s nice just to not have stuff laying around.

What? You don’t clean/organize/throw out stuff on a Friday night? We know how to party, alright?

I partied with another curry dish the other night. Curry just screams comfort in that warm fuzzy way. Well, unless I throw in too many chilies. Then it’s more runny nose and a sweaty brow than really comforting. You could be into that, though. Andrew is. It also allowed me to kill the cabbage craving I’d been having. I was telling Allie how I was eying it in the store fridge every time I went over, and she told me just go get it. Flattery Motivation will get you everywhere with me.

I deviated from my normal coconut milk routine, and went with broth. Technically beef broth [with pork, I know, I’m weird], but any broth will do. I also used panang curry paste when any curry paste would do. The head of cabbage I found was a little bigger than a grapefruit, and while I didn’t measure out how much it yielded, it filled us up just fine. Yes, we ate it all. You know how we roll. I also cheated and went with Minute Rice. It totally goes against the laws of nature being all processed and packaged in a box, but I can’t help it sometimes. I bought it a long time ago. I need to use it. It cooks way faster. It’s hard to argue with rice like that. Feel free to substitute the rice of your choosing.

Inspiration: Brisbane Harvest

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 small head of green cabbage, shredded
• 2 red chillies, diced [use more or less to your spice tolerance]
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 3/4lb ground pork
• 1/2 cup rice
• 2 tablespoons curry paste
• 2 cups broth of choice

Preparation

Heat the oil in a large pan or wok [I use one of these] on medium high heat. When a drop of water sizzles in the pan, add the onion, celery, and chilies. Saute for a minute or two until it all starts to soften and the onion begins to turn translucent.

Add the ground pork, half of the shredded cabbage, and the cumin. Stir to break up the pork and really incorporate everything. Once the pork is mostly cooked through, about 4-5 minutes, pour in the broth, curry paste, and rice. Mix to dissolve the paste into the broth, and bring everything to a boil.

Reduce the heat, cover with a lid, and simmer until the rice is done cooking [Minute Rice was about 5 minutes; regular rice is in the 25-30 minute range]. Remove the lid and give the broth a taste. Add any seasonings you think it might need. The curry paste is pretty salty as is, so I didn’t add any extra. Stir in the remaining cabbage and let it wilt for a few minutes.

Serve in bowls as it might still be a little soupy depending on the rice you used. The longer it cooks, the more it’ll thicken.