I'm an enthusiastic home chef, love trying new recipes and after visiting Thailand got into the taste of their green and red curries.

I recently took an attempt to make some thai red curry with chicken but the outcome was quite a disappointment and the taste very different to that of what I ate in Thailand.

What are your best recipes for red and green curry? Do you make the paste yourself, or perhaps order some specific brand online?

How about you post the recipe you used? That might give some clue as to why it didn't turn out as you'd hoped.

It's best for people new to Thai cookery not to make their own paste. It takes one element of risk out of the equation. (Making good curry pastes is hard, not only physically, but in getting the balance right. The raw ingredients will vary greatly. For example, sometimes the lemongrass will be fresher and more pungent, so less of it is needed. The dried chillies might be spicier or less spicy than those used for the original recipe.)

Most importantly, you need to balance the taste of the various elements. Good recipes will always have a single sentence towards the end describing the balance of the curry. Taking David Thompson's description for what you call a red curry (kaeng phet)

"The curry should be rich from the coconut cream, slightly sweet and salty, with only a suggestion of the dried spices - and fragrant from the lime leaves, chillies and basil at the end."

So, if it's not rich, add a little more coconut cream. If it's not sweet enough, add a little more palm sugar and taste again. Generally I find commercial curry pastes to be rather salty, so I always add less fish sauce than the recipe specifies, then add more at the end after tasting to get the balance right.

Try This:

Red Curry Paste

13 small dried chillies, soaked in hot
water for 15 Minutes and deseeded
3 tbsp, chopped shallot
4 tbsp. chopped garlic
1 tbsp. chopped galangal
2 tbsp. chopped lemon grass
2 tsp, chopped kaffir lime rind
1bsp. chopped coriander root
20 pepper corns
l tsp. shrimp paste
l tbsp. coriander seed
1 tsp. cumin seed

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. The 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.
3. This can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for about 3-4 months.

Or This:

Green Curry Paste

15 green hot chillies
3 tbsp. chopped shallots
l tbsp. chopped garlic
1 tsp. chopped galangal
1 tbsp. chopped lemon grass
1/2 tsp. chopped kaffir lime rind
l tsp. chopped coriander root
5 pepper corns
1 tbsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. salt
l tsp. shrimp paste

1. In a wok over low heat, put the coriander seeds, and cumin seed 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. Add the coriander-cumin seed mixture and the shrimp paste and blend to obtain 1/2 cup of a fine textured paste.
3. This can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for about 3-4 months.

Try This:

Red Curry Paste

13 small dried chillies, soaked in hot

water for 15 Minutes and deseeded

3 tbsp, chopped shallot

4 tbsp. chopped garlic

1 tbsp. chopped galangal

2 tbsp. chopped lemon grass

2 tsp, chopped kaffir lime rind

1bsp. chopped coriander root

20 pepper corns

l tsp. shrimp paste

l tbsp. coriander seed

1 tsp. cumin seed

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. The 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.

3. This can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for about 3-4 months.

Congratulations on adding a totally pointless, ill-informed response. Your "Red Curry Paste" recipe has been lifted from http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080126181040AAavmov word for word which is asking about how to make a panaeng curry - totally different curry.

Couldn't be bothered to track down which website you copied your "Green Curry Paste" recipe from.

Couldn't be bothered to track down which website you copied your "Green Curry Paste" recipe from.

Sorry, I lied. I could be bothered. It was copied word for word from http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/545274

Nope, those recipes are from a cookbook by Charmaine Solomon. It's title is 'A Taste of the Orient'.

I've never heard of the web site you are talking about.

But I am truly, really, deeply very sorry for offending you.

Nope, those recipes are from a cookbook by Charmaine Solomon. It's title is 'A Taste of the Orient'.

I've never heard of the web site you are talking about.

But I am truly, really, deeply very sorry for offending you.

They also appear in another cookbook entitled 'The Complete Asian Cookbook'

When I was in the UK I used to go to my local Asian food shop and buy exactly the same pastes they sell here in Thailand. Obviously if you buy Lloyd Grossman's green curry in a jar it won't taste authentic.

Good cookbook..thanks..Aloha

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I find that even when making a fresh paste, my flavour profile is still left wanting due to the shrimp paste. It's role cannot be understated, and it is truly a great skill which enquiries great ingredients to make an excellent shrimp paste. A skill I do not have unfortunately.

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One important factor in making a realistic Thai Curry is to heat the finished mixture until the Coconut Cream "breaks" i.e the oil separates, leaving a film on top.

Patrikc

The ready-made pastes are quite good and work out good value. Last for ever in the freezer once opened. Just make sure you get a genuine Thai one with Thai writing on it eg MAE PLOY แม่พลอย etc and not the yuck Western approximations eg Gross Lloydman's etc.

One important factor in making a realistic Thai Curry is to heat the finished mixture until the Coconut Cream "breaks" i.e the oil separates, leaving a film on top.

Patrikc

Not correct. Traditionally one heats the coconut cream at the start of making a curry to "crack" it, i.e. separate out the oil, which is then used to stir fry the curry paste. It's this oil which should remain on the surface of the curry at the end.

Many restaurants these days don't bother with cracking the coconut cream and simply fry the paste in a little oil. The end result is pretty similar.