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Wak pura
Pork cooked in bamboo
Wak pura: Garo pork cooked in bamboo with rice flour, chilli and ginger
Wak pura is a Garo dish from western Meghalaya, cooked for Wangala and family feasts: pieces of pork mixed with rice flour, ginger and chilli, packed into green bamboo and cooked slowly so the meat turns tender and the flour thickens the juices. A heavy pot in a low oven gives a close result at home. Pork must reach 71 °C in the thickest piece. The mistake to avoid is too little liquid, which scorches the flour; the mixture should be loose when it goes in. Chef's tip: choose shoulder with some fat, which stays moist through the long cook.
- Total time
- 100 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the pork
- 1 ⅓ lb pork shoulderin 3 cm pieces
- 2 tbsp gingercrushed
- 4 garlic clovescrushed
- 4 green chilliesslit
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp rice flour
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 onionsliced
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Toss 1 ⅓ lb pork shoulder with 2 tbsp ginger, 4 garlic cloves, 4 green chillies and 1 tsp salt. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.
30 minStep 2: Heat the oven to 350°F. Whisk 3 tbsp rice flour into 1 ¼ cups water until smooth.
3 minStep 3: Pack the pork and 1 onion into green bamboo tubes or a heavy lidded casserole and pour over the flour water.
5 minStep 4: Seal loosely with leaf or a lid and cook until the pork is tender to a fork and reads 160°F, with a thick, glossy gravy; stir once halfway if using a pot.
75 minStep 5: Rest 5 minutes and serve with rice.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 8 g
- Fat
- 25 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does wak pura take?
- About 100 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 80 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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