The word for Curry in Thailand is geng and has a much looser meaning than its English equivalent. In its widest sense it means a liquid seasoned with a paste and can include soups and braised dishes, but when the paste is spicy it comes closer to our understanding of the word. At its most basic then, a Curry can be a simple paste of chilies, red, shallots, and shrimp paste dissolved in simmering seasons stock or water, quite similar to the sour orange Curry recipe on this website. This is the most common and probably most popular type of Curry in Thailand. From this, Thai curries become increasingly more complex, reaching the harmonious intricacy of amussaman Curry, where up to 20 ingredients go into the paste, not to mention the subsequent seasoning, meat, and garnishes.

There are three main parts to making a Thai curry: preparing the paste, cooking and seasoning. The paste, and adding garnishes, such as herbs, aromatics, and meat, fish, and so on.

Preparing the Curry Paste

. While making a Curry paste in a blender or food processor is undoubtedly more convenient, Thai food purists believe that the best paste is made by hand, using a mortar and pestle. The larger the mortar, the more practical since it allows for easier, quicker production of a fine Curry paste.

However, it is made, a good quality paste is one where the original, often rough initial state is reduced to a fine purée. To ensure this each ingredient should be pulverize completely before the next is added. The normal order is the hardest, most fibrous ingredients first, the softer ones last.

All the ingredients for the Thai curry must be prepared in advance. This means that most ingredients need to be washed, peeled, and chopped prior to adding to the mortar. The more finely chopped the less time required to reduce the ingredient to a pulp. Perhaps this is rather obvious, but it is certainly a welcome relief when actually pounding.

Cooking the Paste.

There are two methods for cooking the paste. The simplest and oldest sister dissolve it in simmering season the liquid, be it water, stock, or in southern Thailand, coconut milk. After this, the boiled Curry is seasoned, usually with fish sauce and tamarind water. Sometimes a pinch of white sugar is added to balance the tartness.

The alternative method is to fry the Curry paste. Depending on the style of Curry in the region, frying is done either in oil (some older recipes use rendered pork fat) or income cracked coconut cream. With oil, the paste is fried over searingly high heat for just a minute or two, until it smells piercingly aromatic. Pastes cooked in oil are mostly season with fish sauce, rarely was sugar, and are then moistened with stock. This forms the basis of “jungle” Curry and many other curries from the north and northeast of Thailand, where coconuts are less common.

More familiar or curries based on coconut, where the paste is fried and coconut cream that has been simmered until the oil begins to separate out or is “cracked”. The frying takes quite a long time – up to 5 min. over moderate heat, stirring regularly. The aroma develops and deepens, conveying the changes in the paste as it cooks. The longer the cooking, the more mellow the flavor becomes as the disparate elements become unified.

Seasoning.

Seasoning transference the Curry paste – it is this process that so distinguishes Thai food. Thai cooking is a deft balance of hot, sweet, salty, and sour. Most curries are salty, summer also sweet, many can be sour as well, and if you have all of these elements. Wise cooked refrain from complete seasoning at this stage, since it removes the possibility of the final adjustment. Just before serving. After the seasoning process, the Curry is moistened with either stock or coconut milk and then simmer gently for a few minutes to incorporate all the components.

Adding the Garnishes

The third stage is where the garnishes are added. To the Western sensibility, this defines a Curry, but to a tie it is just one element in a complex dish. Garnishing is quite straightforward with a boil Curry, since it is usually only made with fish or seafood cut up into bite-size pieces that cook quickly. Any vegetables, fresh herbs, and other aromatic garnishes are added in order of the time it takes to cook them.

With a fried Thai curry, the meat is cut into very small pieces to allow for an easy an equal share for all, as well as to ensure the tough meat will become tender. Then the aromatic garnishes are added, usually including Kaffir lime leaves, fresh chilies, and picked herbs, such as holy, Thai, or lemon basil. Once garnishing is completed, the Curry is left to rest for a minute or so, to allow the flavors to mingle and mellow. Then the seasoning is checked. Once more, so any final adjustments can be made before serving.

Making a Thai curry is a complex process in which the layers of taster finely poised in the seasonings finely balanced: it is as sophisticated as Thai culture itself. Please enjoy the Thai curry recipes on our website.

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