Silky smooth risotto meets up with Thai green curry flavors and we all get to fall in love! This Pork Coconut Curry with a splash of lime is alive and burning with flavor and is a complete meal in one pot.
I changed the name of this dish at least 1o times. Every time I tried to cut out some words, it just seemed so incomplete. I worried that if I left out any of the words you wouldn't get all dreamy-eyed like I do at seeing them all together in perfect harmony. So Instant Pot Thai Green Coconut Curry, Pork, and Lime Risotto it is! If I was a normal person that didn't over think things, it would be called Green Curry Risotto. Yawn.
The pressure cooker is the ultimate way to make fast, easy, and delicious Instant Pot Basic Risotto. I've mentioned before that once you've got the basics down, the flavors you can then add are endless. That's how this baby was born. And what a beauty.
If given the choice of restaurants, I will pick Thai every single time. So when I can make a dish at home that tastes as good or better than restaurant Thai food, I will sing from the countertops my unconditional love. Which my kids thought was hilarious, and it was, until they thought that it was acceptable behavior and started doing it too. Cute little uncoordinated things that they are.
How to Get Amazing Curry Flavor at Home
You've got to either nail down the perfect homemade curry paste recipe (I haven't found it yet, HELP!) or find an amazing store bought brand that has done all the work for you. I tested them all and here's what I found.
Heat levels differ quite a bit from brand to brand and even from one batch to the next of the same brand. I like things spicy, but I found that by the time I achieved the amount of curry flavor that I wanted, the dish was WAAAYYY to spicy. I order a 5 out of 5 spice level at Thai restaurants, so to be too spicy for me, is probably too spicy for everyone.
Here's a run down of the Curry Paste brands I tried
Mae Ploy, Thai and True, and Thai Kitchen were quite spicy for the amount of curry I wrote for in the recipe below. I would cut the curry paste in half for these brands and add some extra curry powder instead. Maesri Green Curry Paste has a perfect kick and deep curry flavor that my husband and I love and I was able to adjust the heat level just by adding extra red pepper flakes to my own dish.
Do you have a favorite store-bought curry paste that I haven't tried yet? Or the perfect homemade paste? I'd pay big money to perfect this one. Don't quote me on that. I don't know that my husband would agree to me spending our vacation money on a curry recipe. Or maybe he would. Perhaps I'll go with the life motto of “Better to ask for forgiveness than permission”.
Best Pork for Risotto
After much trial and error, the pork tenderloin cut proved to be the most tender with this cook time. I tried a loin and a shoulder and wasn't happy with either. Chicken could possibly be a great substitute as well.
I see more risotto twists in the future of TIDBITS, but for now give this Thai version a try.
Enjoy!
Here's some other recipes to use your green curry paste in:
Instant Pot Soul Soothing Chicken, Coconut, Cabbage Soup
Instant Pot Perfect Tofu with Peanut Sauce (it's in the peanut sauce and it's amazing!)
Instant Pot Thai Butternut Squash Red Curry (which uses red curry, but could be swapped for green easily)
Tools/Ingredients used to make Instant Pot Thai Green Coconut Curry, Pork, and Lime Risotto
Arborio Rice I love this brand and can find it for a bit cheaper at my local grocery store
Risotto Spoon If you wanna stir it like the pros
Lite Coconut Milk This is a great price
*This post contains affiliate links. Thank you!
PrintInstant Pot Thai Green Coconut Curry, Pork, and Lime Risotto
All the amazingly intense flavors of curry smoothed out with coconut milk and risotto. The meat is tender and the flavors bursting! This is a winner!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork tenderloin, diced into large bite size pieces (I use 1 of the 2 pork tenderloins that come in a sealed package in the meat department. Use 1 for this recipe and freeze the other)
- 2 tablespoons lite coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon green curry paste
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ½ cup diced sweet or yellow onion
- ½ cup Arborio rice
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup plus another ½ cup lite coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon green curry paste
- 2 tablespoons mirin or rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Zest and juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, torn
- 1 cup fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
- For serving: lime wedges, extra fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Place diced pork in a bowl or gallon sized ziplock bag. Add 2 tablespoons of coconut milk, 1 tablespoon green curry paste, salt, and pepper and stir to coat the meat. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 2-8 hours (you can skip this if you didn’t plan ahead, but it flavors and tenderizes the meat nicely).
- Add oil into the pressure cooker pot. Using the brown or saute function, heat the oil until hot.
- Add pork and onions and saute for 2-3 minutes to get some color on the meat and wake up the curry paste. Add rice to the pot and stir for 1-2 minutes, until opaque.
- Turn off the pressure cooker. Add chicken broth and scrape any of the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add ½ cup coconut milk, 1 tablespoon green curry paste, mirin, honey, salt, and juice of 1 lime (reserve zest for later).
- Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes.
- When cooking is complete, use a quick release. Select saute and pour in ½ cup of coconut milk; stir for 2 minutes.
- Unplug the pressure cooker; stir in lime zest, basil, and spinach leaves.
- Serve immediately with an extra squeeze of lime juice and torn basil.
Notes
- Curry Pastes can vary a lot in heat level. As written, Mae Ploy, Thai and True, and Thai Kitchen were quite spicy. I would cut the curry paste in half for these brands and add some curry powder instead. Maesri Green Curry Paste had a perfect kick and deep curry flavor that my husband and I loved!
Keywords: instant pot, Thai food, pressure cooker, risotto
So good! I used Thai Kitchen and found it flavorful and not spicy at all. Instead of pork I used rotisserie chicken that I added with the coconut milk in the end to gently heat it. I also added TONS of vegetables after I stirred in the rice before cooking! The only thing I might do differently next time is to double the recipe! Would that work?
Becky, I am completely drooling right now reading your text. Thai food just gets me, ya know? Yes, I think it would double perfectly!