Skip to main content
Bon Appétit

Turmeric-Coconut Curry with Pork

4.3

(37)

Image may contain Plant Dish Food Meal Produce and Vegetable
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Emily Eisen

Instead of just using plain rice, make your own medley! Try a mix of white rice, millet, and/or quinoa, which all cook in about the same time. You can also sub kale for the Napa cabbage.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    2 servings

Ingredients

¼

head of Napa cabbage (a lengthwise quarter), thinly sliced

Kosher salt

1

tablespoon virgin coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil

8

ounces ground pork, turkey, or chicken

1

small onion, thinly sliced

1

1-inch piece ginger, peeled, grated

½

serrano chile, thinly sliced (leave the seeds in if you like spice and remove them if you don’t)

4

garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1

teaspoon ground turmeric

1

5.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk

Steamed rice, lime wedges, Greek yogurt, toasted coconut flakes, and cilantro leaves (for serving)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Toss cabbage with a pinch of salt in a medium bowl, then massage with your hands until slightly softened, about 1 minute. Set aside.

    Step 2

    Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add pork and cook, undisturbed, until browned, about 2 minutes. Break up pork with a spoon or spatula and continue to cook, tossing and breaking up as much as possible, until browned all over but still pink in places, about 2 minutes more. Add onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes.

    Step 3

    Reduce heat to medium. Add ginger, chile, garlic, and turmeric and cook, stirring often and reducing heat if bottom of pan gets very dark, until vegetables are softened and fragrant, 4–5 minutes. Add coconut milk and ¼ cup water and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt.

    Step 4

    Divide rice and reserved salted cabbage among plates. Top rice with curry and lime wedges, then dollop with yogurt. Sprinkle with coconut flakes and cilantro.

Explore Bon AppétitCurrySoutheast AsianAsianTurmericCoconut MilkGround PorkPorkMeatGround ChickenChickenPoultryGround TurkeyTurkeySerrano ChileChileVegetableQuickEasyOne-Pot MealsWeeknight MealsMainGluten-FreeKetoHealthyishSimmerDinner
Sign In or Subscribe
to leave a Rating or Review

How would you rate Turmeric-Coconut Curry with Pork?

Leave a Review

Reviews (37)

Back to Top

  • Added some curry powder, ginger powder, and some extra coconut milk. Amazing

    • Erin

    • Salt Lake City

    • 4/5/2024

  • Love this dish! Very flavorful. I use jalapeños instead of Serrano peppers and also add a little extra turmeric. I’ve also made it with ground chicken.

    • TH

    • Connecticut

    • 3/12/2023

  • The photo in the magazine looks like it had peaches or cantaloupe, or mangos on top, but it was not listed in the ingredients. What is it?

    • Ed

    • Houston

    • 2/4/2021

  • I thought this recipe was very tasty :) especially considering how easy it was to make. I saw comments on it lacking flavour so I was sure not to skimp on the spices, and salted the cabbage generously knowing that some would be shed during the wilting. Thanks Chris!

    • Terri H

    • Victoria, BC, Canada

    • 1/19/2021

  • I love this recipe - we make it at least once a month so figured I should drop a review. Flavors are great and comes together quickly for a great weeknight meal.

    • Christi

    • Chicago, IL

    • 1/5/2021

  • This recipe looked so good, but it ended up tasting super bland. Turmeric alone isn't enough to spice it all up. Especially with the coconut, I was expecting a depth of flavor that just wasn't there. So far it's my least favorite recipe from BA. If you make it, I'd recommend adding a lot more spices to kick it up a bunch of notches.

    • Anonymous

    • 8/25/2020

  • This is pretty ok for a quick meal that doesn't require a ton of ingredients. I doubled the recipe and made it as written. If I make it again, I'd throw in some veggies like zucchini, carrots, etc. Maybe I didn't add enough salt to the cabbage? That topping wasn't quite as exciting as some people made it out to be. I would also say you could just as easily use regular cabbage

    • steens

    • San Francisco

    • 7/30/2020