Thai Minced Pork & Green Beans

I first had this dish in a student flat in Edinburgh in 1989.  My brother's then girlfriend's friend had returned from several months in Phuket studying the geology, much to the envy of her other geology student friend's trip to the mud flats of Aberdeen.

She did write the recipe down for me, but nearly 30 years and several house moves later, I can no longer find it.  It had an obscene amount of birds eye chillis and garlic in, but over time and with kids to feed I this been dumbed down a bit.  This is my most recent take/recollection.  My kids love it so much, my 12 year old has added it to her birthday food list.

Serves 4

1 tbsp sunflower oil
500g minced pork
500g green beans, cut into 1cm lengths
1 large garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1/8-1/4 tsp very hot chilli flakes
5 kaffir lime leaves, shredded (or the zest of a small lime)
450ml boiling water
1 chicken stock cube, crumbled
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp cornflour

Heat the oil a large saucepan or sauté pan and stir fry the minced pork, breaking up any large lumps.

Add the beans, garlic, and chilli.  Stir fry for another minute then add all the other ingredients apart from the cornflour.  Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes depending on how much crunch you like your beans to have.

When the beans are to your liking, add a little water to the cornflour to make it the consistency of single cream and pour into the pork and beans.  Stir over a high heat until the sauce has thickened slightly.

Serve with Thai or basmati rice.

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