Hot Jungle Spicy แกงป่า

Thai Jungle Curry or Kaeng Pa

Name: Thai Jungle Curry or Kaeng Pa
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 3
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: Thai Jungle Curry Paste; 500 g of sliced pork shoulder; Vegetables of your choice. Check out the images above or the notes below.

October 03, 2021 6 Comments

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This is as fiery as it gets for a Thai curry, it is way more spicy than most people can handle. It is also one of the simplest Thai curries to prepare, Jungle curries, or more accurately, forest curries, were traditionally made with whatever was to hand so your choice of meats and vegetables comes down to whatever you want in your curry. Although this was a dish most often cooked with wild boar it is far more common these days to see it cooked with pork or sometimes chicken. Of all the ingredients you might use I think it's worth getting some Thai basil which is sold in most supermarkets these days, fresh green peppercorns on the stalk are great but you would need to find those in an Asian shop. This curry is also cooked without coconut milk but I don't doubt that someone is going to try it with coconut milk:-) Update.( I've been told by quite a few customers this is what they are doing! )
I'll wait to see customer feedback on this one, it's certainly possible to make it even spicier but no point in doing so if only a few people are able to take it.

A note of caution. Although this is already a cooked curry paste it's still capable of inducing a sneezing attack or worse when the paste is being heated. For that reason, the paste is added to water and cooked rather than cooked directly as with most curry pastes. A cooker hood is also advisable. I just had someone* post a comment " Terrible methodology You're supposed to fry the spice paste first for starters." Nope, not unless you have a restaurant extractor fan at full blast, this is a real Jungle curry paste not one of those pretend ones.
*( I could think of terms more suitable than "someone" but best not!)
Suggested ingredients for Thai Jungle curry. Use around 500g of meat as well as vegetables. Note I have used aubergine below and after a few tests I think it tends to make the curry milder than it would be without it, probably due to the high water content. Personal preferences again, spice levels are so subjective. I would also add fish sauce and sugar to it but that is to my own taste.

This is how I have prepped my ingredients.

Add a spoonful of oil to a pan and cook the meat whilst stirring.

Add meat to pan and cook whilst stirring

Add 300 ml of water to the pan.

Add the Jungle Curry paste to the pan.

Bring the contents of the pan to a simmer and cook for a few minutes.

Add vegetables to pan and cook for a few minutes more. This paste has a low salt content as it allows me to judge the heat better when making it, so you might want to test and adjust salt content to your own taste, fish sauce would be ideal.

Garnish with Thai basil if available and serve with rice.

Serving Presentation Thai Jungle Curry from My Thai Curry

Serving presentation for Thai Jungle curry

Enjoy:-)

If you like this recipe please click the star rating or add a comment below! Kop Khun Kha, Nitsa.x

Thai Jungle Curry or Kaeng Pa

Rated 3.6 stars by 56 users

Cuisine

Thai

Servings

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Calories

374

Jungle Curry is an especially fiery dish and far more spicy than most people would be able to handle. It’s also a very simple curry to make, normally served without coconut milk, however, some people might prefer to add coconut milk to the finished dish to calm it down a little!

Ingredients

Thai Jungle Curry Paste
500 g of sliced pork shoulder
Vegetables of your choice. Check out the images above or the notes below.

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Directions

Add a spoonful of oil to a pan and cook the meat whilst stirring
Add 300 ml of water to the pan.
Add the Jungle Curry paste to the pan.
Bring the contents of the pan to a simmer and cook for a few minutes.
Add vegetables to pan and cook for a few minutes more. This paste has a low salt content as it allows me to judge the heat better when making it, so you might want to test and adjust salt content to your own taste, fish sauce would be ideal.
Garnish with Thai basil if available and serve with rice.

Recipe Note

Can also be cooked with chicken or beef.

I use a mixture of vegetables when cooking this. Green beans, sweet corn, aubergine, or whatever is to hand. Some vegetables have the effect of absorbing spice and making this a much milder curry, aubergine is an example of that so bear that in mind when choosing your vegetables.

Thai basil is available from most supermarkets these days.

The fresh green peppercorns in the images above while not essential to the recipe do add a nice touch. They can usually be found in Asian shops or some shops also sell them pickled in brine. Nutrition data does not include rice.

Nutrition

Serving Size 150g
Calories 374, Sugar 1.6 grams, Sodium 0.5 milligrams, Fat 7.4 grams, Saturated Fat 1.9 grams, Carbs 9.7 grams

6 Responses

Lindsay Murphy

October 28, 2024

Fantastic flavors and perfect heat! I changed up my cooking order a bit: oil in the pan, stir-fried the veggies (I used bell pepper, aubergine, pea pods and bamboo shoots), then my protein (have done this with both tofu and shrimp and it’s come out aces both times), then the curry paste and water. Adjust with a touch of fish sauce, fresh lime juice, Thai basil and go. Simple, fresh, and super tasty!

Stephen

July 28, 2024

Just had my second purchase of crying tiger sauce and had it with a 16oz rump with padron peppers and thickly sliced cucumber, beautiful tasting and a good heat, I love it and good way to have steak healthy, I’m looking forward to the jungle curry I’ve purchased, I have palm sugar and fish sauce, just need some Thai basil and a space for the toilet roll in the fridge 😂 I’m a sucker for hot and spicy, I like Thai basil and chilli stir fry, do you think you’ll be making any sort of paste like that in the future?
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mythaicurry replied:
Glad you enjoyed the Crying Tiger Andrew:-) As far as Pad Kaprow is concerned I show how to cook it in this recipe and also why you don’t need a paste to do it! https://www.mythaicurry.com/blogs/recipe-blog/pad-kaprow

Gary Tiplady

July 26, 2024

Hi, just received some jungle curry pastes and have a couple of questions.
When I have bought JC from my local Thai there has been what I believe are baby aubergines, I think these must have become expensive as they are no long in there JC, can these be obtained easily and should I bother?.
One other ingredient in there JC is several thin slices of what I can only describe as being light in colour, slightly textured and looking like a very this slice of fruit, like mango or peach but the colour is more avocado, do you know what this could be.
Many thanks.
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mythaicurry replied:
Hi, The baby aubergine are called pea aubergine and can be bought in some Asian shops fresh or bottled. Also, I think you are describing Bamboo shoots which you can buy canned in most supermarkets. Hope that helps.

Rachael

April 27, 2024

I would eat this Jungle Curry every day, if I could, I totally love it.
I use beef, vegetables are pepper, potatoes and water chestnuts, which seem to soak up the flavour.
Also add nam pla and lime juice, serve with rice, just perfect.
Very hot, but all the flavours come through beautifully.
———
mythaicurry replied:
Ooh Rachael, yes I can see water chestnuts in it! Glad you enjoyed it so much :-)

Jeremy k

December 13, 2023

Wow, incredible jungle curry. Have to admit I was a little scared when tasting while cooking as it was super hot however when it all came together with the vegetables and then the rice it was a real winner. Incredible depth of flavour and and a great taste. As suggested I added some fish sauce and a little sugar. Lovely!

David Williams

May 13, 2023

Your Jungle paste is absolutely brilliant – I love it. I have sought far and wide for such a paste and now I have found it. Thank you so much. Your recipes are wonderful with lots of alternatives and tips for personal taste. Keep up the good work.

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