Red Curry Paste

[Bmouthboyo]

Hi guys,

I am looking to buy some red curry paste from my local market and just wondered how you pronounce it in Thai? I wasn't sure if it is a direct translation น้ำพริกแกงแดง or naphrik Kaeng daeng?

The recipe just calls for red curry paste so doesn't specify a region etc.

Cheers

[AyG]

Not allowed to use Thai script in this forum, so I'll do my best using the Latin alphabet.

Curry paste is khreuang kaeng (falling tone, mid tone respectively).

Red curry isn't called "red" in Thailand - it's spicy (phet - low tone).

Putting that together: khreuang kaeng phet.

(Nam phrik refers to the paste usually eaten with raw or lightly boiled vegetables - not curry paste.)

[AyG]

Afterthoughts: you didn't mention what kind of curry you're planning on making. If you tell the vendor what you're planning he/she will often be able to blend the stock pastes to provide a customised version that's ideal for your dish. (Curries with for example beef need additional aromatic herbs to cut the strong aroma. Fish curry pastes will often need additional ginger/galangal for similar reasons.)

Red curry paste is also available in all supermarkets. My favourite (when I don't make the paste myself) is the one sold in small glass jars in Tesco-Lotus. Lobo brand pastes are incredibly salty, so reduce the fish sauce dramatically. Other brands in sachets are just about OK at a pinch.

[Bmouthboyo]

Thanks for that, why can't we use Thai script on here?

I am planing to make Kaeng Kung Mangkawn which on the recipe is called spicy lobster and pinapple curry.

[AyG]

Thanks for that, why can't we use Thai script on here? I am planing to make Kaeng Kung Mangkawn which on the recipe is called spicy lobster and pinapple curry.

Forum rules. Thai script is only allowed in the Thai language forum.

I'm guessing you're using "The Food of Thailand" with recipes by Oi Cheepchaiissara. That's my "go to" book for almost all basic Thai recipes (apart from yam makheua yaaw which she doesn't have - for that I use Chef Daeng's recipe). I've made this before a few times. Commercial red curry paste is absolutely fine. It's rather lost in the other flavours so top quality is not critical.

If you look at page 276 of the book there's a recipe for how to make the paste yourself if you want to.

[Bmouthboyo]

That's the one . My wife has cooked a few recipes from their now and they were great so I thought I would give a few a bash. The Kaeng Kung Mangkawn also lists Coconut Cream but I have not really seen that out here. Did you get the cream from fresh coconut flesh or can you reduce down some normal coconut milk a bit?

Have you cooked the Pad Pong Kari? I love that dish when eating out and hoping to cook it soon.

[AyG]

For coconut cream just leave some coconut milk to stand in a bowl in the fridge. After a few hours there'll be a thick layer on the top. That's the coconut cream. Just scoop it off. Alternatively (it's not traditional and the taste isn't quite as good) put a couple of tablespoons of a neutral-tasting vegetable oil in the wok and use that to stir the curry paste. (Lots of restaurants here do that nowadays - less hassle than cracking coconut cream.)

Not sure which dish you mean by pat pong kari. Is it in the book? Which page? What's the protein? (What you've typed just means fried curry powder.)

[Bmouthboyo]

In the book it's page 102 and called Puu Phat Phong Karii, I have always seen it spelt as Pu Pad Pong Kari - Crap with Yellow Curry powder:

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=convert+90+usd+to+tbh&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&gws_rd=cr&ei=zknaUr-zPM6FrAez0oG4Dg#q=pad+pong+kari&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&safe=off

Lovely dish when I have ordered it out, although I prefer it with just the crap meat rather than in the shell.

Edit:

Oooops I just checked and it's not the book you mentioned, I have World Kitchen Thailand.

Edited January 18, 2014 by Bmouthboyo

[AyG]

It appears the two books are almost identical, both by the same publisher, and with almost identical credits for writing. The few recipes I've checked they are identical too. It rather irritates me that Lulu someone-or-other gets credit for the writing whilst the hard work is the recipes by Khun Oi.

The Puu Phat Phong Karii I've made a couple of times. It's good. I understand the preference for not having to work so hard to extract the crab meat. I suspect, though, that the shell adds an extra level of flavour. If you're in Thailand check out the tubs of pasteurised crab meat in TOPS. They're actually rather good - and value for money.

Personally, I prefer to kill the crab humanely, rather than putting it in the freezer.

I think she puts the onion in too early (5-7 minutes is too much - Thai style is for the onion to retain a bit of crunch). Probably also needs a bit more chilli.

Anyway, a very sound recipe, to be trusted.

[Bmouthboyo]

I agree it seems somewhat unfair that Khun oi doesn't get her due credit.

Thanks for the advice, ill let you know how my dishes go.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[tutsiwarrior]

I used a masaman curry Lobo packet the other day and wanted to remark regarding the ease of preparation and the outstanding result...

Lobo masaman packet, 250ml carton of coconut cream, about 400g roughly cubed pork loin and 4 medium potatoes roughly cubed (sorta like for a stew)...

just follow the instructions on the packet (in English) and it's done in about 20 mins (required cooking time for the tots)...I was amazed/pleasantly surprised...

I had made a masaman curry about 5 years ago also using a Lobo packet but a lot more preparation was required then...

the wife poked her head in, had a taste then quietly grabbed a bowl and took half of the contents of the wok and disappeared upstairs where the rice cooker is in her kitchen...and she had already eaten...

by the grace of Lobo curry packets, tutsiwarrior does it again...

Edited September 24, 2015 by tutsiwarrior