Thai Pumpkin in Red Curry (Kaeng Phet Fak Thong)

This is a great dish to make in the fall, which is actually when I made this, despite taking forever to post it.  I had always wanted to try making a pumpkin curry after I tried one at the very excellent Thai X-ing, an off the beaten path restaurant literally in someone's living room in Washington, D.C.  The pumpkin curry dish surprised me with how much flavor it packed in - the standard pungency of a curry sauce, but with the smoothness and slightly sweet and nutty overtones from the stewed pumpkin (in that case, acorn squash).  So the first fall that came around, when fresh squash reared their heads, I made it a point to try this out.

I highly recommend kabocha squash to make this dish instead of other squash or pumpkins.  It holds up well, is fairly easy to work with, and seems to be the traditional gourd preferred by many Thais, in addition to being one of the mystery orange vegetables in an order of Japanese tempura.

Don't be misled by the name, this dish is non-vegetarian given the addition of some boneless pork to round out the protein content of the dish.  After all, squash and pork chops seem to go together, so why not pork with squash curry?

Pumpkin Curry

From Natty Netsuwan, ThaiTable.com

• 1 thinly sliced chili pepper
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons red curry paste
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 4-5 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 cup sliced pork
• 1 lb pumpkin or squash (kabocha recommended)
• 1/4 cup Thai basil
• 1 cup water

Slice the kabocha into wedges, cutting along the groves.  Remove the skin by slicing it against the cutting board.  Once when you have the pumpkin pieces all peeled, remove the seeds and strands by slicing a thin layer away from the inside.  Cut the pumpkin into 1 1/2 inch cubes. 

Prepped produce, ready for the wok

Slice the pork thin, into bite size pieces.  Pick basil leaves.  Tear the kaffir lime leaves from the center stem.  Julienne red pepper.

Pour half of the coconut milk into a pot, over medium heat. Add the red curry paste and mix it well with coconut milk. If your mixture starts to splatter too much, turn down the heat. Stir to prevent the bottom from sticking and burning. When the oil starts to form, stir to let the oil bring out the flavor and aroma in the spices.

Add pork and stir to coat the pork with curry mixture. When the pork is cooked, add the pumpkin. Add the rest of coconut milk and water. Season with fish sauce. Simmer until pumpkin is soft, about 15 minutes.

Add sliced red pepper and kaffir lime leaves. Add Thai basil. Turn off the heat. Stir to submerge the basil in hot curry to keep the leaves bright green. The leaves will stay bright green for 10 minutes or so.

The curry is very mild, and should get thicker the longer it is simmered.  It apparently tastes great the next day because the pumpkin has absorbed the spices and the flavor of the pumpkin has dissolved into the curry, much like my theory about why meatballs in sauce overnight are many orders of magnitude greater than fresh.  Serve hot with rice.