Yangben

Ingredients

• 1 ozyangben (dried edible lichen)pre-processed and dried, soaked and squeezed before cooking
• 1⅔ lbporkpreferably from a local domestic pig, with fat and skin, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cuppig's bloodfresh, mixed with the soaked lichen
• 6 clovesGarlicfor the spice paste
• ½ ozGingerabout a thumb-sized piece, for the spice paste
• 1 tspCuminground for the spice paste
• 1 tspGround corianderground for the spice paste
• 2Chiligreen or dried red, for the spice paste or chopped as topping
• 1 tspTurmericadded when frying the meat
• 1Onionsliced or finely chopped
• 2Tomatofinely diced
• 2 tbspVegetable oiljust a little, to help the pork fat render
• Saltto taste, for meat and lichen mixture
• 2bay leavesbriefly fried in the hot oil (optional)
• 1 tsptimur powderNepali pepper, for seasoning (optional)
• fresh corianderchopped, as topping (optional)

Method

1. Pound the spice pastePound the garlic, ginger, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and chillies in a mortar to a coarse spice paste. Keep a little chilli back and chop it for scattering over at the end.
2. Mix the lichen and bloodSoak the lichen in warm to hot water, then drain it and squeeze out as much water as you can. Using your hands, work the lichen together with the pig's blood, about half of the spice paste and a pinch of salt until well mixed, then set it aside.
3. Cut the pork and onionCut the pork, fat and skin included, into bite-sized pieces. Set aside a little of the onion for the topping.
4. Fry the spices in oilHeat a little vegetable oil in a karai and, if you like, fry the bay leaves in it for a few seconds. Add the turmeric powder and tip in the pork straight away.
5. Brown the porkCover and cook the pork for about 15 minutes, stirring often, until the fat has rendered and the meat is lightly browned and almost cooked through. Season with salt along the way.
6. Fry the onion and pasteAdd the onion and cook until soft. Stir in the remaining spice paste and fry it until it no longer smells raw.
7. Stir in the tomatoesStir in the finely diced tomatoes.
8. Cook with the lichen mixtureAdd the lichen and blood mixture, cover and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the pork is cooked all the way through. Season with timur powder at this point if you're using it.
9. Garnish and serveRemove the bay leaves, if used, before serving. Scatter the yangben with the chopped chilli, the reserved onion and, if you like, some chopped coriander leaves, and serve with rice or sel roti.

Tips and variations

Instead of just meat, pork offal often goes into the pot as well: large and small intestine, liver and heart. For a shortcut, use ready-made ginger-garlic paste in place of the pounded spice paste and season with timur. You can also fry the onion first and add the pork afterwards. The tomatoes and bay leaves are just as happily left out. Traditionally, yangben is made with meat from the local black pig. As a snack, serve it in small bowls with tongba or raksi; as a meal, with a generous helping of rice.