Indian cooking / Dishes / Wak Me-A-Mesang Pura

Wak Me-A-Mesang Pura

Pork with Fermented Bamboo Shoots

Non-vegetarian●●●Origin Tribal North East IndiaPrep 25 minutesCook 1½ hours

A fragrant, pungent pork curry flavoured with sour fermented bamboo shoots and fresh aromatics. Rice powder thickens the rich, savoury broth to a velvety finish.

Ground spice

0.3 gAdded with the fresh aromatics (step 3)

Ground turmeric · Haldi

~0.3 gpinch

spice

Keep ready to stir straight into the pan.

Everything else

Pork with fat and bonescut into medium-sized pieces

1000 g

meat

Fermented bamboo shoots · Khorisa

500 g

vegetable

Green chilli · Hari Mirchfinely chopped

7 g2 teaspoons

vegetable

Fresh ginger · Adrakfinely chopped

4 g2 teaspoons

aromatic

Rice flour · Chawal ka atta

79 g½ cup

flour

Salt · Namak

to taste

salt

Method

Set a large, heavy pan over low heat and add 1000 g pork without any oil or water. Cook for roughly 30 minutes, stirring periodically, until the released juices boil off completely and the meat takes on a light golden colour.
Add 500 g fermented bamboo shoots and 250 ml water to the pot, then cook for 2 to 3 minutes while stirring from time to time.
Stir in 6.6 g green chilli, 4 g fresh ginger, the ground spice, and salt to taste. Continue to simmer until all the pan liquid has evaporated.
Pour in 500 ml water, give everything a thorough stir, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes until the pork is cooked through and tender.
Whisk in 0.5 cup rice powder so the sauce thickens evenly, then simmer gently for a final 15 minutes.

Don't have something?

Pork with fat and bones

Pork with fat
Use 80% of the weight; boneless, so add 100–150 ml stock and cook 10 minutes less. Less bone flavour.
Pork rib
Use the same weight; bone-in and fatty, closest texture. Cook 10–15 minutes longer and skim fat.
Lamb rib with fat
Use the same weight; stronger flavour and more fat. Cook 15 minutes longer and skim.

Fermented bamboo shoots

Canned bamboo shoots
Use the same weight, rinse well and slice. Not sour; add 1 tsp vinegar per 100 g and simmer 5 minutes.
Bamboo shoot
Use the same weight, boil for 10 minutes to remove rawness, then add 1 tsp vinegar or lime juice per 100 g. Crunchier and less fermented.
Fermented soya bean
Use 10–15% of the weight, mash into the dish for fermented umami only. Wrong texture; not for dishes where shoots are the main vegetable.

Green chilli

Chilli powder
Use 10 to 15% of the weight (about 1/4 teaspoon per chilli); imparts dry pungent heat and reddens the dish without the grassy crunch.
Dried red chilli
Use 1 dried pod per fresh green chilli; snap in half and temper in hot oil for a deeper, toastier heat.

Fresh ginger

Ginger paste
Use equal weight. Sauté in hot fat until the raw allium smell disappears; slightly wetter, but provides identical warmth and pungency.
Ground ginger
Use 20% to 25% of the weight (1 g for every 4 to 5 g fresh). Stir into the gravy; adds peppery heat and warmth, though it misses the crisp, zesty kick of raw root.

Ground turmeric

Ground ginger
Use 50% of the weight. Mimics turmeric's warm, earthy, rhizome background, but provides none of the golden-yellow colour.
Saffron
Steep a tiny pinch (0.1 g per 2 g turmeric) in 2 tbsp warm water; use to match the rich golden hue. Contributes an aristocratic, honeyed floral flavour rather than earthy bitterness.

Rice flour

Cornflour
Use about 60–70% of the weight for thickening; for coatings use the same weight but the crust is denser.
Plain flour
Use the same weight for coatings; contains gluten, browns faster and is less crisp.
Fine semolina
Use the same weight for crisp coatings; coarser texture and needs a short rest.

Similar dishes

Arek

Pork Stew with Bamboo Shoots

Arek is lighter and more brothy with sharper heat and fresh tomato tang, lacking the velvety, starch-thickened texture of this dish.

Same: Like this dish, Arek simmers pork with pungent bamboo shoots, fresh ginger, green chillies, and salt.
Different: Arek adds tomatoes and garlic while leaving out turmeric and the rice powder thickener used in this dish.

Akshi

Pork with Dried Bamboo Shoots

Akshi is considerably hotter and has a thinner, earthier broth that lacks the sour tang of this dish.

Same: Both dishes are pork preparations cooked with bamboo shoots, ginger, green chillies, and salt.
Different: Akshi uses dried bamboo shoots rather than fermented ones, contains significantly more green chillies, and leaves out the ground turmeric and rice powder thickener found in this dish.

Thevo Chu

Pork with Bamboo Shoots

Thevo Chu is fattier with a direct dried-chilli heat, lacking the velvety broth and tangy fermented notes of this dish.

Same: Thevo Chu also pairs pork with bamboo shoots, ginger, and chillies.
Different: Thevo Chu uses garlic paste and chilli powder braised in its own rendered fat, omitting the turmeric and rice powder thickener found in this dish.

Wookhan

Pork Stew

Wookhan tastes light, savoury and only lightly spiced, without this dish's pungent sour bamboo-shoot flavour or velvety rice-thickened broth.

Same: Wookhan shares pork, green chilli, ginger and salt with this dish.
Different: Wookhan uses onions and ginger paste but lacks fermented bamboo shoots, turmeric and rice flour, so it is not soured or thickened the same way.