Slow Cooker Coconut and Green Curry Pork is an irresistibly flavorful stew you can create in your slow cooker for an exceptional meal! Pair it with white rice for an enjoyable experience. With this recipe, you will pound homemade curry paste from scratch, simmer it with chopped pork shoulder, and use your spoon to create one of the most exquisite Southern Thai dry chili curries ever!
Pork
New York City is enjoying warmer temperatures these days, yet nights still feature some chill. This recipe provides the ideal solution to these cooler nights: spicy, flavorful, healthy and easy!
Slow cooker coconut and green curry is packed with crisp vegetables and tender pulled pork – guaranteed to please everyone at the table! Its combination of savory-sweet flavors will be sure to delight all attendees!
Before adding pork to the slow cooker, I recommend searing or browning it first to add additional flavor while simultaneously decreasing some of its fat content and providing you with greater control over its finished consistency. This step also allows you to ensure an ideal sauce.
To make this recipe, combine pork loin, salt, pepper, agave nectar and lime juice in a shallow dish and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. To cook the pork loin, heat a large skillet over medium high heat. When oil has been added to the pan, work in batches to brown off each batch of pork while seasoning each with salt and pepper while browning. Transfer once done directly to a slow cooker with all other ingredients.
While the pork is simmering, mix together curry paste with tamarind, sugar, stock powder and coconut milk in a bowl before pouring onto it in your slow cooker (follow your slow cooker’s instructions for use) on its “Soup and Stews” setting for 6-8 hours until your pork has become tender.
Once the timer goes off, remove the pork from the pan and drain any extra fat that remains. Stir remaining coconut milk into it before nestling the meat between vegetables and sauce to continue simmering for one more hour until your pork is fork tender and sauce has thickened up.
To make this dish truly memorable, place the vegetables and meat into individual bowls, top each one off with generous sprinkles of cilantro, and garnish with slices of chiles for extra visual flair. This slow cooker coconut and green curry is wonderful served over rice but equally as great enjoyed alone – this recipe should definitely become part of your permanent repertoire!
Vegetables
No matter whether your green curry paste comes from scratch or from a jar, sauteing is key to elevating it to new levels of excellence. By warming and caramelizing the paste before sauteing it with other ingredients and spices, its flavors can emerge and bloom for maximum impact. I find myself using this same technique with both homemade green curry paste as well as jarred red curry for great success; its impactful combination of salty from fish sauce, earthy soy sauce flavor base, tart lime juice tanginess, sweet coconut milk flavoring all combine perfectly to produce an impressive finished dish that balances salty fish sauce flavors with sweet coconut milk sweetness for maximum impactful delicious results – an exquisite combination that brings out its potential as it was intended!
For this slow cooker version, I have combined chicken with collard greens to provide a healthy meal for you and your family. Feel free to swap out the chicken for pork or even beef for something heartier; the sauce itself is still delectable without the addition of meat at all!
For an easy sauce, first combine green curry paste with water until smooth and thick, add coconut milk and stir. Next, heat in a skillet over medium-low heat until the mixture bubbles before moving it to your slow cooker for use.
While the pork is cooking, heat peanut oil until shimmering in a large skillet and add ginger, bell pepper, and snow peas for 10 to 12 minutes before stirring occasionally until vegetables begin to brown. Stir this vegetable mixture into your pork-greens combination in your slow cooker for best results and cover.
Coat the pork with browning salt and place on top of the collard mixture, cover, and cook on low for 6 hours. When ready, shred with two forks into large pieces before stirring back into the collard green mixture before serving over rice with additional toppings such as chopped chiles or cilantro for garnishing if desired.
Thai green curry is an easy and delectable vegan-friendly dinner recipe you can whip up quickly using ingredients you may already have at hand. Serve this delectable dish alongside some steamed rice or zoodles to impress both family and friends alike!
Sauce
A delicious curry can be easily made at home using ingredients you already have on hand – you don’t even have to purchase anything special! All it takes is taking your time when cooking the ingredients so they have time to develop their flavors properly and become tender and tasty. A perfect curry should strike a balance between sweet, spice, salty, and heat: coconut milk provides sweetness while red chili peppers, curry powder or chiles provide heat; spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander seed, fennel seed ginger pepper nutmeg star anise star anise give this golden hue.
This recipe was inspired by our love of Thai green curry with pork tacos, which we absolutely adore. My goal was to develop a similar slow cooker version that combined spicy-sweet green curry with soft and chewy pulled pork, for an unforgettable meal that bursts with flavor and texture from fresh cilantro and chiles in the sauce to the spicy chili-garlic pork tenderloin – an ideal weeknight dinner when time is short yet you need something quick, healthy and satiating.
Begin by prepping the pork: remove and discard all string and rind before patting dry with paper towels. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until hot before working in batches to brown all sides of your pork pieces until done, before transferring to your slow cooker for cooking.
Making the Sauce: While your pork is cooking, begin making its sauce. Place garlic, lemongrass, star anise and mushrooms into a 5.5-litre slow cooker along with curry paste, tamarind extract, sugar, stock powder and coconut milk and whisk to combine before stirring in pork pieces and stirring together with all other ingredients until mixed thoroughly – cover and simmer on low for 6-8 hours for optimal results!
Once your pork is done cooking, use two forks to carefully shred it in its sauce. Check seasoning before garnishing it with chopped cilantro and sliced chiles and serving alongside rice.
If desired, serve this dish with cauliflower rice, jasmine or mung bean rice, roasted peanuts or sesame seeds as garnish.
Serve
Curry is no longer solely reserved for winter nights – this five-ingredient Thai green curry with pork recipe makes the perfect weekday dinner no matter the time of year! Its mild heat pairs perfectly with slow-cooked pork while savory vegetables and creamy coconut milk add balance and harmony to this satisfying meal. Garnish it all off for an easy dinner ready when you get home!
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet. Working in batches, brown the pork pieces while seasoning liberally with salt and pepper, before transferring to a plate for transfering and draining any liquid fat from the pan. Wipe clean your skillet and heat peanut oil until shimmering; add ginger, bell peppers, snow peas and snow peas, stirring regularly until they start to brown before stirring in curry paste before deglazing with 1/4 cup water before decanting into your slow cooker alongside potatoes.
Pour the tomatoes with their juices, coconut milk and stock into your slow cooker and cover. Taste for seasoning before stirring in 1 teaspoon of brown sugar (optional). Nestle slices of pork into the vegetables for even cooking time over seven hours on low.
Before serving, taste the mixture and adjust seasoning as necessary with additional salt or pepper if necessary. Ladle it into bowls and garnish them with reserved red onion rings, bean sprouts and cilantro for an authentic look.
Serve this meal with rice to complete it as an entree, for an easy yet nutritious and low-cal option try cauliflower or jasmine rice as alternatives.
For thicker curry, stir in cornstarch and simmer for approximately 10 minutes. For a spicy version, remove the seeds from red chilies before combining.
Make this Thai green curry ahead of time to store in the fridge or freezer for up to 5 days or 3 months, with slightly thinner consistency when freshened up before serving, but still delicious! Reheating will cause it to thicken slightly; add extra water or broth as necessary to thin it back out again before reheating and serve immediately!