Thai · Authentic-ish Thai
Pad Prik King
270 kcal a serving, against 348 for the traditional version. That is 78 kcal off, or 22%, with 30.1g of protein. Serves 4. 30 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Pork shoulder, sliced and stir-fried with a red curry paste rich with chilli, garlic, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf. The paste is fried in plenty of oil until it releases its fragrance and oil, then pork and green beans jump in the pan. Palm sugar and fish sauce add the sweet and salty. Finished with thinly sliced lime leaves and more oil than you care to admit.
What changed, and what each change costs
Pork shoulder swaps for pork loin
Shoulder's got more fat and flavour, no surprise there. Pork loin is lean, all business, and if you slice it thin and don't cook the life out of it, you get bite and proper meatiness without most of the fat.
What it costs you. If you love those little wobbly bits of fat you find in a Thai canteen, you'll miss them here. It's a trade: chew for leanness. The dish is still plenty porky, but it's not as succulent.
Cut the oil from 60g to 12g
Here's where you've really got to be brutal. The oil is what lets the curry paste bloom and shine. Slash it and you lose that sexy red slick and a lot of the fragrance. I use a splash just to get things moving, then throw in water to keep the paste from catching.
What it costs you. No two ways about it: the paste just doesn't cook out the same way. The kitchen still smells great, but the finished dish looks a bit less like it got a polish. If you eat with your eyes, you'll notice. If you eat with your mouth, the spice still smacks you round the chops.
Double the green beans and swap in some firm tofu
If you just shrink the meat, you shrink the whole dinner. It's the veg that saves you. More beans, more bulk, and a block of tofu to tip the protein arrow back up. Pork's still the main show, but tofu holds the line.
What it costs you. The beans share top billing here rather than propping up the pork. You'll get mouthfuls that are mostly green. If you hate tofu, cut it out, but you'll miss a good chunk of the protein.
Halve the sugar
Sugar's what gives the dish that lick at the end, rounds the heat off, and glosses the beans. Chop it in half and you'll get a drier, sharper finish.
What it costs you. Don't expect the same sticky, candied edges. It isn't the pad prik king in the glass case, it's a mid-week special: hot, salty, but not quite as rounded.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 348 | 270 |
| Protein | 22.5g | 30.1g |
| Fat | 23.1g | 11.4g |
| Saturated fat | 4.4g | 1.9g |
| Carbohydrate | 11.9g | 13.7g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 6.5g | 11.2g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Thai prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. soybeans, fish.
The method is in the book
The state of the wok after the light version is the first clue: barely a smear of oil left. That shine is gone, and the pork's got a more direct chew, but there's a hit of heat and crunch that should keep you interested. It's not what you'd get in a Bangkok shopfront, but it's a legal move if you want the punch of red curry without signing up for all the oil. If you're looking for the magic gloss, you'll have to go old school.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Thai, along with 50 more. It is not out yet. The swap kit is free in the meantime.