I’ve never had banana in curry before until now. I adapted this recipe from a previous issue of the Thai food magazine Krua (ครัว), kitchen in Thai. The recipe calls for a starchier type of banana but I couldn’t find it in the supermarket. I supposed I could beat the traffic, drive to the nearest fresh market, risk parking my car somewhere along the road (if I can find a vacant space), wade my way through the slimy wet market and grab the greenest bunch of beautiful starchy bananas. All this would take me a mere 3 hours. I supposed I could.

On top of using the wrong green bananas, I also completely forgot to buy the lemon basil that the recipe called for. Luckily, I had some sawtooth coriander in the fridge. I crossed my fingers and hoped it would work like magic as in the pumpkin curry. Curious, I took a taste while the curry was still bubbling away on the stove. There was the sweet richness of the coconut milk, the mellow spiciness from the large chili, and the faint smell of lemongrass…………………but something was missing. The curry has that rich and full taste. In fact it felt a little too thick for me. I was tempted to add something citrus-y to counterbalance that heaviness. At this point I really wondered if I might just need those lemon basil after all.

When it was done, I scooped a two spoonfuls of the banana and pork belly over a plate of hot pipping rice, drizzled it with the fragrant curry and sprinkled everything with sawtooth coriander. I sat down and took a bite of the banana and realize this is the counterbalance. The green banana was dense yet soft and custard-y with just a tiny bit of stickiness. It was also slightly tarty and had a bare hint of sourness. I can see why the lemon basil would be the perfect accompaniment. It would be the citrus-y something that I was looking for to compliment that soft heaviness. It also made me wonder what the starchier green banana would taste like. More sour? More tarty? I guess I could make that trip to the fresh market after all.

Ingredients:

Recipe adapted from the Thai magazine Krua

280 grams green starchy bananas

100 grams pork belly cut into 1″ pieces

2 1/2 cups coconut milk

1/4 cup lemon basil

5 kaffir lime leaves

Fish sauce to taste

For the curry paste:

5 large dried chili (I used the mild prik bang chang พริกบางช้าง)

12 grams sliced shallots

10 grams garlic

10 grams chopped galangal

15 grams sliced lemongrass

1 teaspoon sea salt

10 grams fermented shrimp paste (kapi กะปิ)

1. Slice the dried chili in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and soak in water until soft.

2. When making curry paste, it’s easier to pound everything into a paste if each ingredient is added one at a time. Start with the toughest ingredient to the softest. Begin with the chili and salt. The salt will act as a grinder. Pound both into a paste. Add the galangal and pound everything together into a paste. Next add in the lemongrass and pound everything into a paste. The same follows for the rest of the ingredients in this order: shallots, garlic, and kapi. When done set aside.

3. Wash the green bananas. Peel just the outer thin green layer, not the whole banana peel, to expose the soft white fibers.. Cut them into 1″ pieces instead of the thinner slices as I did in the picture. This way they won’t melt if reheated again the next day. Soak them immediately in brine or lemon water. They turn black in a split second.

4. On medium heat, put three tablespoons of oil into a pot. Add in the curry paste. Stir-fry until fragrant. Add in the pork belly. Fry until done. Add in the coconut milk. Bring to a boil and add in all the bananas. Let it come to a boil again and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the bananas are done.  Taste and season with fish sauce.

5. Crush the kaffir lime leaves with hands and tear into small pieces. Add into curry with the lemon basil. Serve immediately.