Pork with Perilla Seeds and Fermented Bamboo Shoots

Pork with perilla seeds is another Naga pork specialty. In the Ao Naga dialect, the dish is called Ak Shi Azü Den Asoba Aon, which translates roughly to pork cooked with perilla seeds. Ak Shi means pork meat and Azü means perilla seeds.

It is a wonderfully straightforward dish built around a few big flavours: fatty pork, the nutty aroma of roasted perilla seeds, the sourness of fermented bamboo shoot, and the citrusy bite of Sichuan pepper. There isn't much going on here, which is precisely the point.

Ingredients

• 750 g fresh pork, preferably a mix of belly and shoulder

• Salt, to taste

• 3 tbsp red chilli powder

• 1 small Naga king chilli (raja mircha)

• Half a cup of fermented bamboo shoot

• 4 tbsp perilla seeds

• 2-inch piece ginger, roughly chopped

• 15–20 cloves garlic

• 1 tbsp Sichuan pepper

• 3–4 cups water, or as required

Method

Prepare the aromatics
Dry-roast the perilla seeds in a pan over medium heat until they begin to crackle and become fragrant. Remove from the heat and allow them to cool slightly.
Transfer the roasted seeds to a mortar and pestle and pound them into a coarse powder. Do not grind them completely fine. You want some texture.
Add the roughly chopped ginger and garlic to the mortar and pound them into a coarse paste. The idea is simply to bruise and break them down enough to release their flavour.
Toast the Sichuan pepper slightly.

Cook the pork
Place the pork in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add the salt, red chilli powder and Naga king chilli. Mix well.
Cover the pan and cook over low to medium heat for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
The pork will begin to release its own fat and slowly cook in it. There is no need to add oil.
Once the pork has rendered some fat, add the fermented bamboo shoot and the crushed perilla seeds. Mix well.
Add hot water as required. You can keep the dish relatively dry or add more water for a thicker gravy, depending on how you prefer it.
Bring it to boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and cook until the pork is completely tender. The exact cooking time will depend on the cut and the meat, but expect roughly 1½ hours. Add more hot water during cooking if necessary.
Once the pork is tender, add the pounded ginger and garlic. Mix well and cook for another 2–3 minutes. Adjust salt.
Turn off the heat.
Finally, crush the Sichuan pepper lightly between your palms and add it to the pork. Mix well and let the residual heat release its aroma without cooking it aggressively.
Serve hot with plain steamed rice, boiled vegetables and a simple salad.