John Myers
Fancy Thai curry? Always a pleasure with the right paste – here you can find out everything about the fiery seasoning mixtures: from the color to the composition to the taste. Easy. Culinary. Good.
Difference in sharpness
A decent curry paste has to be one thing above all else – spicy. However, the point of pain is individual. All the better that there are 3 different variants of the fiery paste, which differ not only in color but also in their degree of spiciness. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the red curry paste that is particularly hot, but the green one. Red curry paste works better with a medium-hot curry. In contrast to the other varieties, the yellow curry paste has the mildest degree of heat. It is considered a modern variant of Thai curry pastes.
That’s in…
Green curry paste consists mainly of the following ingredients:
- fresh green chilies (50%)
- Salt
- shallots
- garlic
- lemongrass
- candle cumin
- coriander
- Thai ginger (galangal)
The less hot version with red chilies is still hot enough for mere mortals. It is made with the same basic ingredients as the other pastes, only red chilies are used instead of green ones. Kaffir lime zest is also often added to the red paste.
In contrast to the other variants, yellow curry paste does not owe its color to the chili peppers, but to the spice turmeric, which is also the main component of the curry powder that is so well known to us. In addition, the paste contains the following ingredients
- dried yellow chili peppers
- shallots
- lemongrass
- cumin
- coriander
- Thia ginger
- often also cinnamon or nutmeg
Use
In Thai cuisine, curry paste is usually prepared with coconut milk and is mainly used in soups and Thai curry dishes. Kaeng Phet, red Thai curry, is prepared with red curry paste, and Kaeng Khiao Wan, green Thai curry, with green. Curry paste is very flavorful and should therefore be used sparingly. By the way, the green curry paste in Kaeng Khiao Wan is traditionally always prepared with a little Thai basil. This gives the dish an extra kick.
Tip: Eaten too spicy? Simply stretch your Thai curry with some coconut milk or cream. However, if you eat rice with curry, it takes the heat out of the food.
Did you know already?
However, the curry powder that is so famous here is not a pure spice and originally comes from Great Britain. During the colonial period, the British brought home dishes from Indian cuisine. While most spices were still freshly ground in India, the British simplified this process by producing a ready-made spice mixture, which was henceforth called curry powder. The spice mixture consists mainly of the ingredients turmeric, coriander, cumin, black pepper, and fenugreek. However, other variants may contain other spices such as ginger, garlic, fennel, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, paprika, or cayenne pepper.
