Our Himalayan-themed Holidays: Phaksha Paa

Well, we just got done with another Holiday season and another cooking adventure. Hubby and I usually take advantage of the holidays to enjoy time together and experiment on cooking.

This year, since we enjoyed a great trip to the Himalayas over the spring, we decided on a Bhutanese themed holiday. Our Thanksgiving menu was composed of dishes from Bhutan and India with influences from Nepal.

Since its Thanksgiving, I did want to add an American flair to some of the dishes. So, I decided to add some traditional Thanksgiving ingredients to these Himalayan dishes. I added butternut squash to the Kewa Dashi, a potato and cheese stew. I also wanted to find a turkey drumette or leg for the tandoori, but good luck with that around Thanksgiving. I ended up with homemade Tandoori Chicken... another first for me.

 

The only one close to the original is the recipe below: Phaksha Paa or Spicy Pork Stew. It’s actually the reason that I am starting with this one since the flavors are pretty good. The other dishes were good, but still in progress. The one ingredient that I had trouble with is dried pork. Since neither my Hubby nor I tasted Bhutanese dried pork in our travels, I’m not sure what it tastes like. Reason is (nfortunately or fortunately) I am primarily vegetarian when we travel, due to health reasons.

The only substitute to dried pork that I can think of is good ole jerky. With gourmet jerky now available, I have many options for meat. I can even can use tofu jerky. However, I decided to stick to pork jerky which I thought would be very appropriate. Also, since jerky can be considered native to the American continent, I think this would be a good American touch (Although I think it originated from the Quechans in South America where my other favorite cuisine comes from).

The Bhutanese are also known for using a lot of chilis in their cooking. I read that chilis are considered a spice and a vegetable. I have seen our driver have chilis and rice for lunch and he was enjoying it. If it were me, my tongue would be on fire at first bite.

Because I did not know what would best match Bhutanese chili, I used three different chilis on each dish for variety. For the pork stew, I opted for fresh serrano peppers. For the other dishes, I used the lovely Merken Spice (from Chile) for the Cheesy Potatoes to give it that smoky spicy feel and cayenne for the Tandoori Chicken.

Since Bhutan had the advantage of having an abundance of farms and the availability of fresh vegetables, I also used a lot of vegetables in my pork stew. I figured that this would be appropriate and could double as our veggie dish as well.

Lastly, I took advantage of fresh meat we get here. I realized that in Bhutan, they may not the same quality of meat like here in the US. Bhutan is a Buddhist country so they do not kill their meat, and meat is usually shipped from India or Nepal probably. Such distance would require good storage and possibly freezing and preservation. Perhaps that is why dried pork is a delicacy in Bhutan.

Here's the first installment. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Phaksha Paa (Bhutani Pork with Radish and Bok Choy)

Based on recipe from http://ediblyasian.info/recipes/phaksha-pa
Recipe documented by Susanne Waugh from conversations with the Queen mother and the royal chef.

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless pork shoulder, cubed 1” by 1”
• 2 cups of chicken broth or water
• 4 T unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
• 1 medium onion (about 4 ounces), peeled and diced
• 1 medium daikon or white radish (about 3 1/2 ounces), peeled, sliced into disks.
• 1 1/2 serrano peppers, seeded and sliced
• 3 heads bok choy (about 3 pounds total), stems removed and leaves cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 6 ounces pork jerky, julliened (I used Krave)
• Fresh ginger, peeled and minced (or crushed in a pestle and mortar)
• 1 large fresh pepper, seeded and cut into julienne strips (original recipe called for green pepper, I selected red for color)

Directions

1. Season the pork with salt and pepper.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Brown the pork cubes. Set aside.
3. Sweat the onion, serrano pepper, and daikon.
4. Add pork, onions, serrano peppers and daikon in the slow cooker. Add chicken broth and simmer over low heat until the pork is just tender.
5. Add the red peppers and bok choy (You can add the peppers first, then the bok choy).
6. Add the ginger and dried pork to the stew and simmer over low heat until heated through, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Verdict

I love this dish. The flavors are excellent. I turned the spice level down a couple of notches, so my husband can enjoy the dish. He did say that I can turn it up a little bit (maybe add one more serrano or keep some of the seeds).

The author of the recipe, Susanne Waugh, was right. The addition of the pork jerky gave this dish an addicting sweetness. I even topped it with more jerky for texture. 

This dish is also easy enough to prepare that we can add it to our weekly rotation, especially when the slow cooker is used. I think this one will find its way into our menus this year. Yum!