Goan Pork Vindaloo
INDONESIAN · INDONESIA

Goan Pork Vindaloo

Vindalho de porcoMain

Pork shoulder steeped overnight in a palm vinegar and Kashmiri chilli paste, then braised until the fat turns glassy and the sauce goes dark and fierce. This is the Goan original: sour, garlicky, hot, and unapologetically not a curry-house pint.

Total
105 min
Heat
5/5
Serves
4

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Flavour profile

Heat
Funk
Acid
Richness
Umami
  • Garlicky
  • Rich
  • Sour
  • Spicy

The real deal

Region
Goa, on India's Konkan coast, where Portuguese colonists brought the vinegar and the name from vinha d'alhos.
Technique
A long vinegar marinade tenderises the pork, then a slow covered braise concentrates the chilli and garlic into a thick dark sauce.
We kept
Palm or cane vinegar, Kashmiri chillies, a serious amount of garlic, no tomato, no turmeric-heavy masala.

Ingredients

4 Serves

vindaloo

  • 1 kg · cut into large cubes
  • 2 tbsp
  • 1 · sliced thin
  • 10
  • 1 tsp · grated
  • 200 ml

masala

  • 30 g · dried, stems out
  • 150 ml
  • 12 cloves · peeled
  • 5 cm
  • 2 tsp
  • 2 tsp
  • 1 tsp
  • 6
  • 3 cm
  • 1 tsp
  • 2 tsp

Method

  1. Snap the stems off and shake out the seeds. Cover with 150 ml and leave to soften for 30 min. Cut into large bite-sized cubes, keeping some of the fat — it is what makes the sauce glossy.

    Do not drain the vinegar afterwards — that soaking liquid is the sour backbone of the marinade.

  2. Blitz the soaked chillies and their vinegar with , , , , , , and into a thick, brick-red paste.

  3. Rub the paste and 2 tsp into the pork until every piece is coated. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight, ideally 12 h, turning once or twice.

    A short marinade still works, but the full overnight rest is where the vinegar tenderises the meat and the flavour reaches the bone.

  4. Heat 2 tbsp in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add and and fry until the onion is soft and golden at the edges, around 8 min.

  5. Add the marinated pork with all its paste and turn the heat up. Sear hard for 8 min, turning, until the pieces lose their raw pink and the paste darkens and smells toasty rather than sharp.

    Scrape the bottom of the pot as you go — that browned paste is pure flavour, not something to leave stuck.

  6. Add and 200 ml , stir, then cover and simmer gently for 1 h. The pork should be tender enough to cut with a spoon and the sauce thick, dark and clinging.

    Check at the halfway mark; if it is drying out, splash in a little more water — you want a thick gravy, not a soup.

  7. Take the pot off the heat and let it sit for 10 min so the fat settles into the sauce, then serve with plain rice. It is even better the next day.

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