Toku's Manly Cuisine-Indian-style Stewed Pork in Brown Sauce

Text by Josie Wu　Translated by Ann Lee
Photos by Andy Lin

Ollie's Takeaway
(02) 2502-4808
64, SiPing St (fourth shop)
11 am-6 or 7 pm (till sold out)
Credit cards not accepted. No service charge

A lot of the Taipei locals are aware of the popularity of Alice's Cooking Studio, which is held every Friday from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at Eslite Bookstore's XinYi Branch. Host Alice Lee always invites well-known chefs and gourmet food connoisseurs to her kitchen and holds on-side demonstrations, so everyone can pick up a few tips and learn how to make something new. In February, she invited Toku, a host on the Travel & Living Channel, to the cooking studio. Toku showed the audience the secrets to making a delicious, pleasant-looking curry dish--Indian-style Stewed Pork in Brown Sauce.

As was expected, not a seat in the house was unoccupied and the tutorial went great. If you happened to miss the curry lesson, don't panic! Taiwan Fun is here to share Toku's recipe and hints with you. On March 14, he will return to the studio to teach everyone how to make his famous Eel with Sweetened Egg Sushi Rolls, so be sure you don't miss it!

Ingredients:
Potatoes, carrots, minced pork, hard-boiled eggs, spicy curry blocks, Thai rice, onions, potato starch, chocolate squares, soup stock, parsley, and black pepper.

Directions:
Here is Toku's recipe, complete with his own handy tips--enjoy!

Steps:
Rice: After sauteeing garlic in a large saucepan, add Thai rice and cook until the rice is soft enough to eat. Add a bit of water and cover. Cook on med-low heat for 5-6 minutes. Turn heat down and simmer for 15 more minutes.
*Note: Cooking rice in a flat frying pan is a Turkish cooking method, ensuring you cook the rice until it is edible. Pouring in hot water makes the rice inflate quickly, which will make it chewier.
Curry
1. In a separate pan, saute onions with butter. When onions brown, add soup stock.
2. Add potatoes, carrots and curry blocks to the soup stock and bring to a boil--make sure the curry dissolves completely. Add a few blocks of chocolate.
*Besides thickening the curry, chocolate also takes away some of the spiciness and gives it a richer flavor.
3. Wrap the outsides of the hard-boiled eggs with minced pork. Place pork/eggs into the curry mixture. Simmer the contents for 1-2 hours. Remove from heat and let stand for about 36 hours.
*Curry that has been left overnight will taste even better.
4. To serve, place Turkish rice (see above) on a plate and sprinkle with parsley and black pepper. Cover with warmed curry and a few chocolate pieces.
*The curry will have a richer texture and a more fragrant aroma when extra chocolate is added just before serving.