Thai-Style Pork Curry

  • 20MINS
  • 2HR
  • Serves 4
  • 391KCAL

This Thai-style dish is a real treat… Using slimming friendly ingredients and spices, these fragrant flavours will warm the whole family right up!

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Easy Peasy Thai-Style Pork Curry pinchofnom.com
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NutritionPer Serving

  • Calories391
  • Carbs30g
  • Protein39g
  • Fat12g
  • Saturates4.1g
  • Sugars6.2g

Thai Style Pork Curry - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card below. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff in the blurb!

Our Thai-Style Pork curry is warming and tasty without the calories you’d normally get from a restaurant or takeaway version. We’ve filled ours with plenty of tasty veggies and used dairy-free coconut milk to keep the calories low. 

Inspired by our love for Massaman flavours, we’ve used a tasty blend of ingredients from India (including cumin and cardamom) and Thailand (including lemongrass and tamarind) to create a rich and satisfying fusion dish.

Watch it bubble away in the oven until the potatoes soften and the pork is nice and tender! You can also cook this recipe in your slow cooker or in an instant pot.

What diets is this Thai-Style Pork Curry suitable for?

This Thai-Style Pork Curry recipe is suitable for dairy-free diets.

It can be made gluten-free as long as you swap out the following ingredients for gluten-free versions; 

  • Beef stock cube

Please make sure to double or triple check all of your ingredients if you’re cooking for people with allergies.

Do you need any special ingredients to make Thai-Style Pork Curry?

You’ll need Thai fish sauce (also known as Nam Pla) to make this recipe. It’s a clear, golden liquid made from fish that adds a savoury, umami flavour to food. 

We also use Tamarind paste to add a sour, citrus flavour to the dish. It’s a sticky paste made from the fruit of the tamarind tree. 

You should be able to find both of these ingredients at your local supermarket.

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‘Easy to make and full of flavour’

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You’ll need Thai fish sauce (also known as Nam Pla) to make this recipe.

We’ve used sticky Tamarind paste to give our curry hints of sourness!

How many calories are in this Thai-Style Pork Curry?

There are 391 calories per portion in this Thai-Style Pork Curry, which means it falls into our Everyday Light category. 

To cut down the amount of calories even more, you can simply halve the portion size and serve with a healthy accompaniment!

This Thai-Style Pork Curry is perfect if you’re following a calorie controlled diet, and fits well with any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers. 

As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 160°C. To make the curry paste, place a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat (no need to spray with low calorie cooking spray). As soon as the frying pan is hot, add the onion, garlic and ginger, stir and toast for about 4–5 minutes until a little charred around the edges. This will add a hint of smokiness to the finished curry. Transfer to a food processor and set aside.

Step 1 pinchofnom.com

Step 2

Reduce the heat to medium and add the chilli flakes, cumin, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon and cloves. Stir well and toast for about 30 seconds until you can smell fragrant flavours being released, taking care not to burn the spices.

Step 2 pinchofnom.com

Step 3

Add the toasted spices to the food processor containing the charred ingredients. Add the lemongrass and water, and blitz to form a coarse paste. Set aside.

Step 3 pinchofnom.com Step 3 pinchofnom.com

Step 4

Spray the frying pan with low calorie cooking spray (no need to wash the frying pan first), and place on a medium heat. When the frying pan is hot, add the pork and seal on all sides, stirring, for about 3–4 minutes. Add the curry paste and continue to cook for a further 2–3 minutes, stirring well.

Step 4 pinchofnom.com Step 4 pinchofnom.com

Step 5

Transfer the pork and curry paste to a large casserole dish. Add the potatoes, coconut milk alternative, beef stock, fish sauce, tamarind paste, sweetener or sugar and peanut butter. Stir well to combine all the ingredients then cover with the lid.

Step 5 pinchofnom.com

Step 6

Place in the preheated oven and cook for 2–2 ½ hours, stirring halfway through and checking it’s not drying out. Add a little water if needed. When the curry is ready, the chunks of potato will be soft, some will have broken down to thicken the curry sauce and the pork will be tender. If the sauce is too thick for your taste, add a little more water to thin it down. If it is too thin for your taste, cook uncovered for a short time to reduce further.

Step 7

Just before serving, stir in the torn basil leaves. Sprinkle red chilli slices and a few fresh basil leaves on top. Serve with Basmati rice or other accompaniment of your choice.

Step 7 pinchofnom.com

Thai Style Pork Curry - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

What could I serve with this Thai-Style Pork Curry?

This Thai-Style Pork Curry is delicious all on its own, or you could serve it with rice. A 50g/125g (cooked) portion of basmati would be 173 cals in total.

Why not put on a Thai-inspired Fakeaway spread by serving it up alongside one or more of these tasty dishes?

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How do you know when Thai-Style Pork Curry is cooked?

You should cook this Thai-Style Pork Curry until the potatoes soften and the pork is tender. This will take around 2–2 ½ hours.

To keep your family safe, the advice here in the UK is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes.

How long can you keep Thai-Style Pork Curry in the fridge?

Once you’ve put it out, ideally you should eat it within 4 hours.

If you allow any leftovers to cool, make sure to refrigerate in a container with a lid and chill.  You can keep leftovers of Thai-Style Pork Curry in the fridge for approximately 1–2 days or so. 

Can I freeze Thai-Style Pork Curry?

Yes you can! This recipe can be frozen, but please remember to do the following;

  • Freeze it as soon as it is cold enough.
  • Use a container or bag that is suitable for freezing.

Don’t forget to add a label with what it is, and on what date you put it in the freezer! 

How do I reheat Thai-Style Pork Curry?

From chilled: Place in a microwave proof container with loosely fitting lid and heat for 4-7 minutes until piping hot.

From frozen: Allow to defrost, and heat covered in the microwave for 3-5 minutes then stir. Cook for a further 5-7 minutes until piping hot.

You can reheat on the stovetop in a covered saucepan over a low heat until piping hot. You may need to add a little water if the sauce appears to be drying out.

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Thai-Style Pork Curry

Using slimming friendly ingredients and spices, the fragrant flavours in this Thai-style curry will warm the whole family right up!
  • Prep Time
    20 MINS
  • Cook Time
    2 HR
  • KCals 391
  • Carbs 30G

Ingredients

  • 600 g diced pork all visible fat removed
  • 3 medium potatoes peeled and cut into 3cm (1¼ inch) chunks, approx. 150g each
  • 300 ml coconut dairy-free milk alternative
  • 1 beef stock cube made up with 300 ml boiling water
  • 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 1 tbsp white granulated sweetener or sugar
  • 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
  • 5 g fresh basil leaves stalks removed and roughly torn
  • ¼ small red chilli deseeded and cut into thin slices, for the top
  • a few basil leaves for the top

For the curry paste

  • 1 medium onion peeled and cut into ⅛ pieces
  • 4 cloves garlic peeled and left whole
  • 3 cm piece root ginger (or 1¼ inch) peeled and thinly sliced
  • ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp ground cardamom
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground cloves
  • 2 lemongrass stalks woody parts removed and finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp water
  • low calorie cooking spray

large casserole dish with lid

large non-stick frying pan

food processor or stick blender

We use a fan assisted oven for all of our recipes. Check out our oven temperature conversion guide.

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Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. To make the curry paste, place a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat (no need to spray with low calorie cooking spray). As soon as the frying pan is hot, add the onion, garlic and ginger, stir and toast for about 4–5 minutes until a little charred around the edges. This will add a hint of smokiness to the finished curry. Transfer to a food processor and set aside.
  2. Reduce the heat to medium and add the chilli flakes, cumin, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon and cloves. Stir well and toast for about 30 seconds until you can smell fragrant flavours being released, taking care not to burn the spices.
  3. Add the toasted spices to the food processor containing the charred ingredients. Add the lemongrass and water, and blitz to form a coarse paste. Set aside.
  4. Spray the frying pan with low calorie cooking spray (no need to wash the frying pan first), and place on a medium heat. When the frying pan is hot, add the pork and seal on all sides, stirring, for about 3–4 minutes. Add the curry paste and continue to cook for a further 2–3 minutes, stirring well.
  5. Transfer the pork and curry paste to a large casserole dish. Add the potatoes, coconut milk alternative, beef stock, fish sauce, tamarind paste, sweetener or sugar and peanut butter. Stir well to combine all the ingredients then cover with the lid.
  6. Place in the preheated oven and cook for 2–2 ½ hours, stirring halfway through and checking it’s not drying out. Add a little water if needed. When the curry is ready, the chunks of potato will be soft, some will have broken down to thicken the curry sauce and the pork will be tender. If the sauce is too thick for your taste, add a little more water to thin it down. If it is too thin for your taste, cook, uncovered for a short time to reduce further.
  7. Just before serving, stir in the torn basil leaves. Sprinkle red chilli slices and a few fresh basil leaves on top. Serve with Basmati rice or other accompaniment of your choice.

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Recipe notes

Tip: We used floury Maris Piper potatoes in this recipe, as they break down and thicken the curry sauce by leaving a chunky potato texture behind. Waxy potatoes don’t work as well as they don’t break down as much.
Tip: Use granulated sweetener that has the same texture and weight as sugar.  

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6 comments

See what others have to say

JennySunday 6th March 2022

Tried this but just seemed bland?

Reply

    HollyMonday 7th March 2022

    Hi Jenny, if this recipe wasn’t quite to your taste you could try increasing the spices used in the curry paste in steps 1-3. Hope that helps!

    Reply

Emma LovellFriday 4th February 2022

If using chicken, does it need to cook for less time? thank you

Reply

    SharonWednesday 9th February 2022

    Hi Emma, diced chicken will cook more quickly than diced pork so I would suggest cooking for about 1 – 1 1/2 hours and then checking on it. The potato will need time to soften and break down a little as this thickens the sauce, so you will need to check on it and cook for a little longer if needed. It will probably take less than 2 hours in total, but as we haven’t tested this recipe with chicken, these are only guidelines. Hope you enjoy the recipe!

    Reply

Lisa murtaghThursday 3rd February 2022

Hi, can you substitute peanut butter powder for the peanut butter?

Reply

    HollyFriday 4th February 2022

    Hey Lisa, yes you can substitute for regular peanut butter just remember to alter the calories accordingly, hope that helps!

    Reply

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