Naga Pork with Bamboo Shoot

Naga cooking is simple and bold: few spices, lots of ginger, garlic and chilli, and the sour, funky taste of fermented bamboo shoot. Pork is the meat of celebration in Nagaland.

The famous Naga king chilli (raja mirchi / bhut jolokia) is extremely hot – one chilli is enough for a pot. Use any hot fresh chillies if you can't find it. Serve with sticky or plain rice.

• Serves 4
• Prep 15 min
• Cook 60 min
• gluten-free · dairy-free · Spicy
• Famous in Nagaland

Ingredients

• 800 g pork belly with skin and fat, in 3 cm pieces
• 200 g fermented or canned bamboo shoots, drained and sliced
• 5 cm ginger and 8 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste
• 1 Naga king chilli (or 4–5 hot green or red chillies), crushed
• 1 tsp turmeric (optional)
• Salt
• A handful of fresh coriander

Method

1. Put the pork in a heavy pot without oil and cook on medium heat, stirring, for 10 minutes until the fat runs and the pieces brown.
2. Add the ginger-garlic paste, chilli, turmeric and 1 tsp salt and fry 2 minutes.
3. Add the bamboo shoots and 200 ml water. Cover and simmer on low heat for 40–45 minutes until the pork is soft.
4. Uncover and cook until most of the liquid is gone and the pork is coated. Finish with coriander.

Tip: Fermented bamboo shoot smells strong when you open the jar – that disappears with cooking and leaves a lovely sourness.

Shop the ingredients

Everything you need for this recipe is in stock at Farmah’s – order online or pick it up at Annenstraße 41, Graz.