Introduction To Thai Curries
Green - Red - Yellow - Gaeng Som - Gaeng Kua
Panang - Mussaman - Pad Prik Khing
Nahm Prik Pao Southern Thailand 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. Types of Thai curry 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!). Thai curry "Gaeng" basics 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. 
Green: khreuang Gaeng Keaw Wan
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.
Yellow: khreuang Gaeng Ga-Ree
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.
Gaeng Kua: khreuang Gaeng Kua 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.
Red: khreuang Gaeng Ped
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.
Panang: khreuang Gaeng Panang
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.
Mussaman:
khreuang Gaeng Mussaman
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.
Roasted Red Chili Paste
Nam Prik Pow 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 pestle or 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.
Pad Prik Khing 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.
Kaeng Som: khreuang Gaeng Som
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.) | 
