Thai Curry

[suegha]

When I cook my Thai curries I fry the oinion and garlic (and sometimes the Galengal) first, ie before I add the other ingredients. None of the recipes I have advise this but I find it works better. Does anyone else do it this way? And why should it make a difference?

Edited December 9, 2005 by suegha

[solo siam]

Tastewise probably makes it slightly sweeter and smokier tasting, Sweet from the onions and smokey from the garlic.

[BambinA]

When I cook my Thai curries I fry the oinion and garlic (and sometimes the Galengal) first, ie before I add the other ingredients.  None of the recipes I have advise this but I find it works better.  Does anyone else do it this way?  And why should it make a difference?

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in TH , when we cook curry .. we will start by fried chilly paste with oil b4 ..

heat +old+herb+chilli make aromatic thing in them dissove and has greater scent (same reason that when u fry oinion and garlic (and sometimes the Galengal)

me.. sometime i just lazy to do follow from classic step , just thrown all ingredients in pot and then cook

[suegha]

When I cook my Thai curries I fry the oinion and garlic (and sometimes the Galengal) first, ie before I add the other ingredients.  None of the recipes I have advise this but I find it works better.  Does anyone else do it this way?  And why should it make a difference?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

in TH , when we cook curry .. we will start by fried chilly paste with oil b4 ..

heat +old+herb+chilli make aromatic thing in them dissove and has greater scent (same reason that when u fry oinion and garlic (and sometimes the Galengal)

me.. sometime i just lazy to do follow from classic step , just thrown all ingredients in pot and then cook

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree that if you just want to be lazy - bung in all the ingredients and cook is perfectly fine! However, I just feel more involved with the process if I do things in stages, after I do the onions and garlic I add my curry paste then my coconut milk - lots, as I like it saucy! Then I add the 'harder' veg right down to the 'softer veg, and finally my fish sauce, soy, lime juice and coriander. And there you are, my version of Thai curry... I love it!

[sbk]

My mother-in-law has suggested to me that you will get a creamier, tastier curry if you fry the curry paste with a little bit of coconut milk first. Not much milk, maybe just a big spoonful; keep the wok at high, add your curry paste/shrimp paste then add the big spoonful of coconut milk. Stirfry that a bit, until the paste is dissolved and the milk has cooked down a bit. Then slowly add the rest of the milk.

[sabaijai]

When I cook my Thai curries I fry the oinion and garlic (and sometimes the Galengal) first, ie before I add the other ingredients.  None of the recipes I have advise this but I find it works better.  Does anyone else do it this way?  And why should it make a difference?

in TH , when we cook curry .. we will start by fried chilly paste with oil b4 ..

heat +old+herb+chilli make aromatic thing in them dissove and has greater scent (same reason that when u fry oinion and garlic (and sometimes the Galengal)

me.. sometime i just lazy to do follow from classic step , just thrown all ingredients in pot and then cook

I agree that if you just want to be lazy - bung in all the ingredients and cook is perfectly fine! However, I just feel more involved with the process if I do things in stages, after I do the onions and garlic I add my curry paste then my coconut milk - lots, as I like it saucy! Then I add the 'harder' veg right down to the 'softer veg, and finally my fish sauce, soy, lime juice and coriander. And there you are, my version of Thai curry... I love it!

Are you talking about Thai curries? Sounds more like the way Burmese or Indian curries are done. In Thai curries the onions and garlic aren't cooked separately they have usually already been pounded into the khreuang kaeng (curry paste) in the first place.

My wife, who has worked as a Thai chef for the last 20 years, never cooks onions and garlic separately when doing the three principal traditional Thai curries (kaeng khiaw-waan; kaeng phet; kaeng phanaeng). According to her and other Thai foodies I've talked to, it's because the proper flavours of the onion/garlic don't fully come out until they're pounded together with the chilies, galangal and other ingredients in the curry paste.

Here's a link to some authentic-looking Thai recipes where you can see the onions and garlic - when present - are pounded into the curry paster first, not cooked separately.

thai recipes

For kaeng karee and kaeng matsaman, two Thai curries that more or less imitate Indian curries, I think I've seen cooks saute the onions/garlic first but otherwise they're not on hand to fry.

Of course if you prefer to do it that way, that's fine, it's just not the traditional way, and not the way most Thais would like to have it done. Nothing to do with laziness -- pounding the ingredients into a paste is a lot more time-consuming them frying them.

[snoophound]

Correct

Same my missus whose Thai food is higly sought after by all her Thai friends here.

SBK way is def more an indian approach.

I think the secret is the mortar and pestle pounding the ingredients into a paste.

MMM love the smell of her cooking.

When I cook my Thai curries I fry the oinion and garlic (and sometimes the Galengal) first, ie before I add the other ingredients.  None of the recipes I have advise this but I find it works better.  Does anyone else do it this way?  And why should it make a difference?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

in TH , when we cook curry .. we will start by fried chilly paste with oil b4 ..

heat +old+herb+chilli make aromatic thing in them dissove and has greater scent (same reason that when u fry oinion and garlic (and sometimes the Galengal)

me.. sometime i just lazy to do follow from classic step , just thrown all ingredients in pot and then cook

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree that if you just want to be lazy - bung in all the ingredients and cook is perfectly fine! However, I just feel more involved with the process if I do things in stages, after I do the onions and garlic I add my curry paste then my coconut milk - lots, as I like it saucy! Then I add the 'harder' veg right down to the 'softer veg, and finally my fish sauce, soy, lime juice and coriander. And there you are, my version of Thai curry... I love it!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Are you talking about Thai curries? Sounds more like the way Burmese or Indian curries are done. In Thai curries the onions and garlic aren't cooked separately they have usually already been pounded into the khreuang kaeng (curry paste) in the first place.

My wife, who has worked as a Thai chef for the last 20 years, never cooks onions and garlic separately. According to her and other Thai foodies I've talked to, it's because the proper flavours of the onion/garlic don't fully come out until they're pounded together with the chilies, galangal and other ingredients in the curry paste.

For kaeng karee and kaeng matsaman, the two Thai curreis that more or less imitate Indian curries, I think I've seen cooks saute the onions/garlic first but otherwise they're not on hand to fry.

Of course if you prefer to do it that way, that's fine, it's just not the traditional Thai way, and not the way most Thais would like to have it done.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[sbk]

Not me, I don't fry the onions and garlic first, that is suegha. Onions and garlic are already pounded into the paste (did that myself, ONCE!). No, I was saying the paste is cooked with a bit of coconut milk first, no added ingredients, just paste and coconut milk.

[sabaijai]

My mother-in-law has suggested to me that you will get a creamier, tastier curry if you fry the curry paste with a little bit of coconut milk first. Not much milk, maybe just a big spoonful;  keep the wok at high, add your curry paste/shrimp paste then add the big spoonful of coconut milk. Stirfry that a bit, until the paste is dissolved and the milk has cooked down a bit. Then slowly add the rest of the milk.

The traditional way to "kaeng" (make a curry) is to fry the paste in a couple tablespoons of hua ka-thi-, 'head of the coconut milk', i.e., coconut cream (the thicker stuff floating on top of fresh-squeezed coconut milk). Once the paste is well-blended with the hua ka-thi and the aroma fills the kitchen, you add the rest of the coconut milk measured for the recipe.

No oil need be added.

[solo siam]

I'm guessing that when adding the coconut cream to teh paste, you cook it until the oil in coconut cream seperates.

[sbk]

he traditional way to "kaeng" (make a curry) is to fry the paste in a couple tablespoons of hua ka-thi-, 'head of the coconut milk', i.e., coconut cream (the thicker stuff floating on top of fresh-squeezed coconut milk). Once the paste is well-blended with the hua ka-thi and the aroma fills the kitchen, you add the rest of the coconut milk measured for the recipe.

No oil need be added.

Thats what I was trying to say exactly, you just put it in a much clearer way --thanks!

It makes the curry come out very rich and creamy if you do this.

I don't see anything wrong with experimenting with different ways of cooking Thai food, I think Thai people tend to be tradition bound with their food and can have difficulty seeing different ways of doing things.

We needed to have more vegetarian food in our menu to cater to different farang tastes so I suggested my cook figure out a way to make curry with tofu and veg (not traditional but it still works) and her Yum tofu is quite good. It took her a few tries to get it right but now everybody raves. And the vegetarians are pleased to have more choice than Pat Pak.

I'm guessing that when adding the coconut cream to teh paste, you cook it until the oil in coconut cream seperates.

That takes quite a long time I believe. Generally you just cook it until the paste has dissolved.

[suegha]

I agree that my method (ie fry onions and garlic first) seems more like Indian, however, my curries are still distinctly Thai. I know this from entertaining my Indian neighbours. Obviously I didn't want to cook them Indian! So they have had my full menu of Thai cooking as well as Irish and Italian.

Italian = pasta with various sauces, Irish = cheap cuts of meat with loads of potatoes and veg. Next time maybe Mexican...

Cooking is such fun!

[snoophound]

MMM

Good Irish stew

Caserole

yum

Lamb shanks

Missus always asks for chilli

I agree that my method (ie fry onions and garlic first) seems more like Indian, however, my curries are still distinctly Thai.  I know this from entertaining my Indian neighbours.  Obviously I didn't want to cook them Indian! So they have had my full menu of Thai cooking as well as Irish and Italian. 

Italian = pasta with various sauces, Irish = cheap cuts of meat with loads of potatoes and veg.  Next time maybe Mexican...

Cooking is such fun!

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[chanchao]

Does anyone else feel that coconut milk is a tad over-used in central Thai cooking?

Last time when I ran out I subsituted regular milk and was actually very pleased with the result. You taste the 'curry' better that way. Was a dish that included pork meat and pumpkin and potato and I arrived at something that was a rather nice fusion combination of stew and curry.

Indian friend of mine absolutely abhors letting coconut milk near any kind of curry. He's also not in favour of fiddling too much with it with additional herbs and stuff: the curry paste already should be the perfectly balanced mix of pounded herbs and spices, his advice is to not &lt;deleted&gt;.k with it.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[Nickerelastic]

Where do we go from here?

I know my mince and tatties are the best.

why?

'cause my kids told me.

As is my "Irish stew"

[Nickerelastic]

Does anyone else feel that coconut milk is a tad over-used in central Thai cooking?

Chanchao

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Cook with what is at hand

[suegha]

I know this is a tad off topic, but back in Ireland my mother would mince the cheapest cuts of mutton fry it up with loads of onion and some gravy and serve it with potatoes and veg, it was fab!

The reason I said 'tad' off topic is I have have made a slightly Thai version by frying onions and garlic with the mince, add curry paste, corriander, and a for a 'fusion twist' sun dried tomato paste instead of gravy - don't froget the fish sauce. Serve on a bed of rice with a veggy dish on the side - heaven! I know it sounds weird but try it and see...

Are there any other mince curries?

Edited December 14, 2005 by suegha