Curry is one of the most important dishes in Southern Thai
Cuisine. The other dishes for a meal are often planned around the
type of curry that is going to be prepared in the South. In fact the familiar
greeting in the Southern countryside is "Gin gaeng array wan-
nee"? -what kind of curry are you eating
today? The decision as to which type of curry to prepare hinges
upon the available ingredients.
Breaking into a sweat is, for many is highly
desirable. It is a type of addiction, once you have eaten curries on a
daily basis for about a month, your tolerance for spicy curry increases to an
incredible level. Apparently there are many health benefits gained from eating
chili peppers, including high Vitamin C content and increased
metabolism rate.
If you like milder curry, simply omit the
fresh whole chilies and/or add less curry paste.
In Thailand there are basically two
types: coconut milk-based and water
-based. The most typical water-based is sour curry (Gaeng Som)often
prepared with fish. The sourness comes from tamarind but a little lime juice also works. Jungle curry (Gaeng Pa) is another delicious water-
based vegetable curry with or without meat, which is usually very spicy.
Thai coconut-based curries are numerous! red, yellow, green, panang and Massaman are the most well
known. The key ingredients are mostly wet and fragrant: fresh chilies, lemon grass, galangal, garlic, shallot, kaffir lime, kaffir lime Leaves,
coriander roots,
and shrimp
paste. Aroy-dee (delicious!).
Variations of curry pastes
are surprisingly numerous. Gaeng Massaman
(Muslim), Gaeng Panaeng (Panang)
, Gaeng Phet (Red), and
Gaeng Luang (yellow), are just a few
of the many types. The most popular are Gaeng Phet and Gaeng
Keaw Wan (green curry) depending on what region you are in.
Traditional Thai curry
paste takes a lot of patience and time to create, so if possible, prepare with a friend.
A very small electric blender or electric coffee grinder makes this a quick
job. If available, a very heavy stone mortar and pestle with at least a 2 cup bowl
is traditional and makes a better textured paste.
Thai curries, almost without exception, are based on
"wet" spice mixtures, pastes that are produced by grinding spices and
aromatics in a heavy mortar with a rough surface. Only curries of Indian or Burmese origin are made using curry powder. In
Thailand, it is possible to buy freshly made pastes from the market, but outside
the country they are only available in jars.
The basic ingredients (khreuang gaeng) are chili peppers, whole cloves of garlic, sea salt, fresh lemon grass, fresh
tumeric for
colour, and shrimp
paste (gupi - kapi). You will find many curry paste
recipes with many more ingredients added to this basic recipe . But you can make
a delicious simple curry with just these few ingredients.
This curry paste is made from herbs and fresh green chillies. It is most often
used to make chicken curries.
Ingredients Quantity
15 Green hot chillies Prik Ki-Nu
3 tablespoons Chopped shallots
1 tablespoon Chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Chopped galangal
1 tablespoon Chopped lemon grass
1/2 teaspoon Chopped kaffir
lime rind
1 teaspoon Chopped coriander root
1 tablespoon Coriander seeds
1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Shrimp paste -
Gupi
Traditional Thai curry pastes take a lot of
patience and time to create, so if possible, prepare with a friend. A very
small electric blender or electric coffee grinder makes this a quick
job. If available, a very heavy stone mortar and pestle with at least a 2 cup bowl
is traditional and makes a better textured paste.
Preparation
1. In a wok over low heat, put the coriander seeds, and cumin
seeds and dry fry for about 5 minutes, then grind into a powder.
2. Into a blender, put the rest of the ingredients except the
shrimp paste and blend to mix well.
3. Add the coriander-cumin seed
mixture and the shrimp paste, blend to obtain 1/2 cup of a
fine-textured paste.
This can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for about 3-4 months.
This is very similar to Mussaman curry paste. A quick version can be made by
adding a generous amount of ground turmeric to red curry paste. Yellow curry paste is
very spicy and is used for chicken and beef curries.
Ingredients Quantity
15 Dried chillies Prik haeng, soaked in
hot water for 15 minutes and de-seeded
3 tablespoons Chopped shallots
1 tablespoon Chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Chopped ginger
1 tablespoon Coriander seeds
1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
1 tablespoon Chopped lemon grass
1 teaspoon Shrimp paste - Gupi
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
2 teaspoons Pong Garee
Curry powder
Traditional Thai curry pastes take a lot of patience and time to create, so if
possible, prepare with a friend. A very small electric blender or electric coffee
grinder makes this a quick job. If available, a very heavy stone mortar and pestle with at
least a 2 cup bowl is traditional and makes a better textured
paste.
Preparation
1. In a wok over low heat, put the shallots, garlic, ginger,
coriander seeds and cumin seeds and dry fry for about 5 minutes, then grind
into a powder.
2. Into a blender, put the rest of the ingredients and
blend to mix well.
3. Add the shallot, garlic,
ginger, coriander, seed-cumin, seed mixture and blend again to obtain about
1/2 cup of a fine-textured paste.
This can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for about 3-4 months.
Ingredients Quantity
15 Dried chillies Prik haeng, soaked in
hot water for 15 minutes and de-seeded
3 tablespoons Chopped shallots
2 tablespoons Chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Chopped galangal
1 tablespoon Chopped lemon grass
1 teaspoon Chopped kariff lime rind
2 teaspoons Chopped coriander root
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Shrimp paste - Gupi
Traditional Thai curry pastes take a lot of
patience and time to create, so if possible, prepare with a friend. A very small electric blender or electric
coffee grinder makes this a quick job. If available, a very heavy stone mortar and pestle with at least a 2 cup bowl is
traditional and makes a better textured paste.
Preparation
1. Into a blender, put all ingredients except the shrimp
paste and blend until well mixed.
2. Add the shrimp paste and blend once more to
obtain about 3/4 cup of a fine-textured paste.
This can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for about 3-4 months.
This paste gets its colour from the large number of fresh red chillies that
are the prime ingredient. It is a complex paste, and classically includes cumin
seeds, shallots, garlic and lemon grass, as well as fresh coriander
(cilantro) roots, peppercorns, cinnamon and shrimp paste. Red curry paste is
most often used in beef curries and robust chicken dishes.
Traditional Thai curry pastes take a lot of
patience and time to create, so if possible, prepare with a friend. A very small electric blender or electric
coffee grinder makes this a quick job. If available, a very heavy stone mortar and pestle with at least a 2 cup bowl is
traditional and makes a better textured paste.
Ingredients Quantity
15 Dried chillies Prik haeng, soaked in
hot water for 15 minutes and de-seeded
3 teaspoons Chopped shallots
2 teaspoons Chopped garlic
1 tablespoon Chopped galangal
1 tablespoon Chopped lemon grass
2 teaspoon
Chopped kariff lime
rind
2 teaspoons Chopped coriander root
1 tablespoon Coriander seeds
1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
2 teaspoons Pounded cinnamon
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Shrimp paste -
Gupi
Traditional Thai curry pastes take a lot of
patience and time to create, so if possible, prepare with a friend. A very
small electric blender or electric coffee grinder makes this a quick
job. If available, a very heavy stone mortar and pestle with at least a 2 cup bowl
is traditional and makes a better textured paste.
Preparation
1. In a wok over low heat, put the coriander seeds and cumin
seeds and dry fry for about 5 minutes, then grind into a powder.
2. Into a blender, put the rest of the ingredients except the
shrimp paste and blend to mix well.
3. Add the coriander seed-cumin seed mixture and
the shrimp paste and blend again to obtain about 3/4 cup of a fine-textured paste.
This can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for about 3-4 months.
Nam prik gang panang This sweet curry paste is made with ground
roasted peanuts and is relatively mild. It originated in Penang, in Malaysia, hence the
name. This paste can be used equally well with chicken beef and is ideal
for dishes that are cooked in coconut milk.
Ingredients Quantity
15 Dried chillies Prik haeng, soaked in
hot water for 15 minutes and de-seeded
5 tablespoons Chopped shallots
2 tablespoons Chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Chopped galangal
1 tablespoon Chopped lemon grass
1/2 tablespoon Chopped kariff lime rind
1 teaspoon Chopped coriander root
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Shrimp paste -
Gupi
Traditional Thai curry pastes take a lot of
patience and time to create, so if possible, prepare with a friend. A very small electric blender or electric
coffee grinder makes this a quick job. If available, a very heavy stone mortar and pestle with at least a 2 cup bowl is
traditional and makes a better textured paste.
Preparation
1. Into a blender, put all ingredients except the shrimp
paste and blend until well mixed.
2. Add the shrimp paste and blend once more to
obtain about 3/4 cup of a fine-textured paste.
This can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for about 3-4 months.
Milder in flavour than any of the pastes defined by their colour, this curry paste
owes its origins to India. It is usually based on dried chillies and contains
coriander and cumin.
Ingredients Quantity
15 Dried chillies Prik haeng, soaked in
hot water for 15 minutes and de-seeded
3 tablespoons Chopped shallots
2 tablespoons Chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Chopped galangal
1 1/4 tablespoons Chopped lemon grass
2 Cloves
1 tablespoon Coriander seeds
1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
5 White Pepper corns
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Shrimp paste -
Gupi
Traditional Thai curry pastes take a lot of
patience and time to create, so if possible, prepare with a friend. A very small electric blender or electric
coffee grinder makes this a quick job. If available, a very heavy stone mortar and pestle with at least a 2 cup bowl is
traditional and makes a better textured paste.
Preparation
1. In a wok over low heat put the shallots, garlic, galangal,
lemon grass, cloves, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and dry fry for about 5 minutes,
then grind into a powder.
2. Into a blender, put the rest of the ingredients except the
shrimp paste and blend to mix well.
3. Add the shallot, garlic,
galangal, lemon grass, clove, coriander seed, cumin seed mixture and the
shrimp paste and blend again to obtain 1/2 cup of a fine-textured paste.
This can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for about 3-4 months.
Ingredients Quantity
1/2 cup Dried chillies Prik
haeng
8 Shallots (sliced)
3 tablespoons fish sauce - nam
pla
2 cups Vegetable oil
1/3 teaspoon Sea Salt
6 Garlic cloves (sliced)
1 cup dried shrimp
1 tablespoon palm sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons tamarind juice
Preparation
1. Heat the oil in a wok and fry the shallots and garlic until golden brown;
remove from oil and drain. Add the dried shrimp and dried chillies; fry
until golden brown; remove from oil and drain.
2. In a heavy stone mortar and pestleor
blender, grind the shrimp, garlic, chillies, shallots and sugar until the
mixture is blended well. Add the fish sauce, tamarind juice, salt
and cooled oil from the wok into the blender; blend until you have a finely
textured sauce.
This can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for about 3-4
months.
Ingredients Quantity
15 dried chillies prik haeng, soaked in
hot water for 15 minutes and de-seeded
7 Chopped shallots
2 cloves Chopped garlic
1 tablespoon Chopped
ginger
root
2 teaspoons Chopped galangal
1 tablespoon Chopped lemon grass
1 teaspoon Chopped kariff lime rind
1 teaspoon Chopped coriander root
5 white pepper corns
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons dried shrimps
(grind into powder)
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
-
gupi
Traditional Thai curry pastes take a lot of
patience and time to create, so if possible, prepare with a friend. A very small electric blender or electric
coffee grinder makes this a quick job. If available, a very heavy stone mortar and pestle with at least a 2 cup bowl is
traditional and makes a better textured paste.
Preparation
1. Into a blender, put all ingredients except the shrimp
paste and dried shrimp. Blend until well mixed.
2. Then, add the shrimp paste and dried shrimp and blend
once more to obtain a fine-textured paste.
Made from pounded red chillies and flavoured with shrimp paste, th-is tangy
paste is often used in seafood curries, including sour shrimp curry soup.
Ingredients Quantity
15 dried chillies prik haeng, soaked in
hot water for 15 minutes and de-seeded
1 tb Chopped
garlic
1 tb Sour Shrimp Paste -
Gupi
1tb Chopped
shallots
3 Pieces Kra-
chai
Traditional Thai curry pastes take a lot of
patience and time to create, so if possible, prepare with a friend. A very
small electric blender or electric coffee grinder makes this a quick
job. If available, a very heavy stone mortar and pestle with at least a 2 cup bowl
is traditional and makes a better textured paste.
Preparation
1. Soak dried chilies in hot water
for 15 minutes and deseed.
2.Into a blender, put all
ingredients except the shrimp paste and blend until mixed well.
3. Add the shrimp paste and blend once more to
obtain about 1/2 cup of a fine-textured paste.
This can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for 3
-4 months. (Note: Krachai is related to ginger and galangal, and usually used in
fish dishes.)
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