Rezept

Wok pork with Pao Moo: four ingredients, one jar of paste

Pao Moo is the Thai chili paste with fried pork. In a wok with fresh meat and vegetables, it turns into a complete rice dish in 20 minutes.

3 Min. Lesezeit

Wok-Schweinefleisch mit Pao Moo: vier Zutaten, ein Glas Paste

Nam Prik Pao is Thailand's shelf-stable chili paste. Chilies, shallots, and garlic are roasted and preserved in oil, which keeps the paste good for weeks even without a refrigerator. In a country where refrigerators were the exception for a long time, that was exactly the point.

Pao Moo, น้ำพริกเผาหมูทอด, takes it a step further: fried pork turns the condiment paste into almost a meal in itself. At the breakfast table, it is spooned directly from the jar onto warm rice, with a slice of cucumber on the side. In wok cooking, it is the base that allows you to build an entire dish in just a few minutes.

What makes it savory and slightly sweet is the combination of roasted chili, tamarind, and a cane-coconut sugar blend. Fish sauce and shrimp paste provide the depth that pure chili heat alone cannot achieve. For the wok, this means: the seasoning work is already done; all that's missing is the fresh element.

  • 4servings
  • 20 min.preparation
  • 2/5on the THAANI scale

Shopping list

What else you need

  • 1 jar THAANI Pao Moo (approx. 3 tbsp for this recipe)
  • 400 g pork neck or tenderloin, cut into thin strips
  • 150 g green beans, cut into pieces
  • 1 red chili pepper, cut into rings
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 spring onions, cut into rings
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil
  • 400 g cooked jasmine rice

Preparation

  1. Preparation. Cut the meat, beans, chili pepper, and garlic. Cook the rice so that it is ready for serving.
  2. Sear the meat. Heat oil in a wok until very hot, sauté the garlic briefly. Then sear the pork over high heat until it takes on color all over.
  3. Stir in the paste. Add the Pao Moo and mix with the meat until everything is evenly coated. Sauté briefly so that the flavors combine with the pan juices.
  4. Add vegetables. Add the beans and a splash of water, stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes until the vegetables are crisp-tender.
  5. Season. Season with soy sauce; add a little more water if necessary for more sauce.
  6. Serve. Distribute over the rice and sprinkle with the spring onions.
The paste provides all the seasoning. The meat just provides the texture.

Three more ideas

  • On warm rice: press a spoonful of Pao Moo directly into the mound of rice, serve with cucumber slices and a fried egg. This is how the paste is most commonly eaten in Thailand, without any cooking at all.
  • As a spread: mix with softened butter and spread on toasted bread. A few spring onion rings on top make for a quick dinner.
  • For soup: stir a spoonful of Pao Moo into clear broth, add a few noodles and spring onions. In a few minutes, it becomes a flavorful base.

Once opened, the jar keeps in the refrigerator at +2 to +6 °C. One jar of Pao Moo provides about 10 servings as a seasoning, so for this recipe you only need about a third of it; the rest is enough for the three ideas above.