John Myers
Both the red and the green curry paste are part of classic Thai cuisine. Although not originally part of this tradition, yellow curry paste is now available in most Asian supermarkets and Thai restaurants.
The curry pastes differ primarily in their degree of spiciness. However, this is not based on the traffic light principle that is widespread in this country, according to which red is the sharpest and green the mildest variant. On the contrary, the green curry paste is not the mildest variant, as many assume, but the hottest. It consists of up to 50 percent fresh green Thai chili peppers, which are extremely hot. Garlic, shallots, galangal (Thai ginger), roasted coriander seeds, coriander root, grated lime zest, lemongrass, and shrimp paste are usually added.
Red curry paste is a little milder, but still quite hot. It also consists of shallots, garlic, galangal, coriander root, lemongrass and shrimp paste. In addition, roasted cumin seeds and green peppercorns are usually added. The red color comes from dried red chili peppers.
Yellow curry paste is mild and creamy. Also called Kaeng Kari, it is made from dried Thai chili peppers, but they are not as hot as the peppers used for the green paste. It also contains coriander seeds, cumin seeds, lemongrass, garlic, cinnamon, cloves – and turmeric, which gives the paste its yellow color. Also try this recipe for the golden trend drink: our turmeric latte! In some recipes, coconut cream, pepper, salt, shrimp paste, shallots, or ginger are also added.
Curry pastes can be bought ready mixed, but you can also prepare them yourself. To do this, put the ingredients and spices in a mortar and crush them into a thick cream with the pestle.
In addition to the curry pastes mentioned, there are also Masaman and Panaeng curry paste in Thai cuisine. The panaeng paste is slightly milder than the red version and, like the yellow paste, consists of dried Thai chillies, garlic, and shallots. Add pureed galangal, grated lime zest, coriander roots, green peppercorns, shrimp paste, and salt.
The Massaman curry paste comes from southern Thailand and can be translated as Muslim curry. It is quite hot and is composed of dried Thai chili peppers as in the yellow variety, cumin and coriander seeds, galangal root, garlic, shallots, shrimp paste, lemongrass, cloves, green peppercorns, and salt.
Other curry pastes come from India, for example, the hot madras or even hotter vindaloo curry paste. In addition to chili peppers, they often contain mustard seed, coriander and cumin seeds, peppercorns, garlic and ginger or tamarind, and turmeric. The curry powder that we use in this country and that is an ingredient in our curry sauce recipe, for example is not known in Asian cuisine at all.
