Stir-Fried Pork with Lemongrass

Bangkok has many cooking schools and one that has been around for 30 years is the Blue Elephant Cooking School and Restaurant. The cooking class consists of a visit to the market where your guide will explain the various items within the market and after that head back to the classroom for a cooking demonstration. Yes, you do get a hands on experience! Lunch consists of what you cooked that morning. The classes are well organized and a lot of fun especially if you go with a group of friends like my husband and I did.

Blue Elephant is an international brand with restaurants in over 12 countries, and their line of food is represented the world over. I noticed yesterday that Pete's Frootique has a small sampling of their grocery products (curry pastes, salad dressings, sauces, coconut cream, Pad Thai noodle kits, dried fruits).

Serves 2
recipe from Blue Restaurant Cooking School
printable recipe

For the Paste:
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 stalk lemongrass
1 stem of coriander root
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the stir-fry:
120g pork, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons chicken stock or water
1 Kaffir lime leaf, finely sliced

For the seasoning:
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon whiskey

In a pestle and mortar, pound garlic, coriander root and lemongrass. Once a paste forms add the black pepper. In a wok warm up the oil and then add the paste. Stir fry until aroma develops, add pork and cook well. Add finely sliced kaffir lime leaf and add some stock (about 2 tablespoons) and add more if sauce is too thick. Combine the seasoning ingredients and add to the pork. Toss in coriander leaf and remove from heat. Transfer to a serving dish topped with deep fried crispy lemongrass.

The Culinary Chase's Note: To make the crispy lemongrass, peel leaves of the lemongrass and pound in a pestle and mortar until it becomes chunky (easily pulls apart). Squeeze juice out of lemongrass. Before deep frying, coat the lemongrass with Tempura flour. Deep fry until lemongrass turns golden brown and set aside. The pork is very tender and the flavor of the whiskey coming through adds a bit of a nutty flavor. Delicious!