Thai · Authentic-ish Thai

Dry Red Curry with Pork

Dry Red Curry with Pork, plated as one serving.

331 kcal a serving, against 624 for the traditional version. That is 293 kcal off, or 47%, with 26.4g of protein. Serves 4. 35 minutes.

What the traditional version is

Sliced pork belly, stir-fried with Thai red curry paste in a generous pool of oil until the paste splits and releases its fragrance. Fish sauce, a handful of green beans, kaffir lime leaves, and a pinch of sugar round it out. The sauce is thick, oily and coats the pork in a spicy, deeply savoury glaze.

What changed, and what each change costs

Switch pork belly (400g) for pork tenderloin (400g)

Pork belly is pure hedonism, with fat that melts and bastes everything in the pan. Pork tenderloin cooks quickly and stays tender but won't drench you in fat. It's the first thing I swap when I want something lighter that doesn't taste like I've made a grave error.

What it costs you. You lose the silken, unctuous texture and some savoury depth. Still, it's real pork and you'll barely notice once it's coated in curry paste and herbs.

Oil from 40g down to 14g

Most of the traditional oil is there to split the curry paste and turn it glossy. Cut it back and you dodge the mouth-coating richness, but the aroma's still bold and the curry paste cooks just fine if you keep things moving.

What it costs you. The curry's not as voluptuous, and the paste will go a little clumpy instead of making an even, oily glaze. Still fiercely spicy though, and your lips won't feel like you've had a face massage in a chip shop.

Rice cut from 240g to 120g

Fatty meat screams for heaps of rice to soak it up. Go lean and smaller portions work fine. Just don't expect to be rolling away from the table.

What it costs you. You might wish you had a second helping, but that's what leftovers are for. The dish tastes sharper, less soothing, but that isn't always a bad thing.

Boost the green beans from 100g to 160g

If you're trimming the meat and rice, you need something else to bulk up the plate. More green beans mean more crunch and more to chew, but not more calories.

What it costs you. The beans do their best impression of the main event. The leftovers keep their snap better too.

What goes in it

The ingredients, without the quantities. The weights are what the figures below are computed from, and they are in the book.

How it starts

  1. Start with your rice: rinse it, cover with twice its weight in water, bring to the boil, then simmer with a lid on for 10 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, slice the pork tenderloin into thin strips.
  3. Put your frying pan on high heat.

The rest of the method, and every weight, is in Authentic-ish Thai.

The numbers

Per servingTraditionalLightened
Calories624331
Protein25.3g26.4g
Fat33.8g10.7g
Saturated fat9.1g1.8g
Carbohydrate53.5g30.5g
Protein per 100 kcal4.1g8g

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. How every number is computed sets out the method.

Allergens. fish, peanuts.

The method is in the book

There's no denying it - the original is better if what you want is pure luxury. All that oil and pork fat cuddling up to the red curry paste is a hard act to follow. But swapping in tenderloin and cutting the oil leaves you with something still recognisably Thai curry, fiery and loud. It's just not as rich or as slick, and you'll be able to stand up straight after lunch. The extra beans pull their weight, and you'll not go hungry. But if you're dreaming about pork belly, just book the day off and do it properly instead.

The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Thai, along with 48 more. Buy the paperback

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