Paa is a curry with gravy or a meaty stew. Phaksha Paa highlights another favourite item of the Bhutanese people - pork. This dish is made of pork slices stir-fried with whole red dry chillies (yet another spicy dish), ginger and Bok Choy. Bok Choy is also known as White Mustard Cabbage or Pak Choy and is peppery to taste and has a celery-like stalk with dark leaves. It is used not only in stews like this but also in fresh salads. Mountain vegetables such as radishes and spinach may also be added in Phaksha Paa. This is often eaten along with rice and Datshi dishes.

Variations of Phaksha Paa include:

• Shakam Paa which is rich in protein, consisting of dry beef slices cooked with dry chillies, potatoes, onions and radishes. It is mostly cooked in a pot and served alongside a portion of rice.
• Sicaam Paa is another version of this dish which employs sun-dried pork belly which is then fried along with dry chillies.

Yaksha Shakam is a version of this dish that substitutes pork with dried yak meat.