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Curry Paste

TexLaw

Fussy Evil Genius
I love a good curry. Whether it's hot or cold out, they make me happy. However, I'm not always up for pulling all the ingredients together and working one up. After staring at them for years, I finally got around to trying commercial curry pastes. Hey, let me tell you something. I'm impressed! I've only tried a few (Mae Ploy green and yellow; Maesri green), but this good stuff. I've had better, but I've also had worse, and the commercial pastes I've tried are a lot closer to the better. A little zhooshing is worth your time (like a little extra garlic or ginger or lime leaves), but the ones I've tried are mighty good straight out of the tin (or bag in the tub, as the case may be).

I still have Mae Ploy and Maesri red in the pantry to try, and I'll get around to those in due course. I have some panang and massaman pastes on my list to try, as well.

Has anyone else tried these? Any tips on pastes to try or how to give them a little more pizzaz?

I'm also looking at some recipes for making curry paste from scratch, because . . . y'know . . . . Does anyone have or know of some good ones?
 
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I enjoy a good curry too. Red and green are my favorites. But I won't turn down some yellow curry.

I need to make some as I have some green curry paste here at the house. This is the brand that was recommended to me. When I went to the international market to buy some.

I use it to make Thai green chicken curry.

If you are interested in the recipe I use. Let me know.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
I like what might be called Indian style curries and use exclusively Pataks pastes. A tip is to use the excess oil on the paste surface to fry onions etc. before adding the paste to make your sauce. When the oil is used up you can add some sunflower oil into the top of the jar ready for the next time you fry. All the varieties are excellent but this is my favourite one.

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I recently made a hot sauce that is heavily curry spiced, it makes a pretty darn good curry mixed 1:1 with yogurt. I will have to try commercial pastes though, I haven't tried them before.
 
I have tried a few coconut milks and creams. This here brand is my favorite. My co worker is Thai and he said this is the brand that most Thai's prefer to use.

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We lived in Bangkok for 3 years before coming here - I never knew Chaokoh came in large cans! Always got the 250ml cartons.

I'd rarely use a shop-bought paste, always make it from scratch now. The missus does her Indonesian curry pastes using the traditional flat mortar, an oelek, to grind the spices and chilli by hand, she says you get the essential oils out better. On the odd occasion we used a Thai curry paste it was always a local brand and we'd just add more of everything so in the end there was no point using it.
 
I've had pretty good results from the Mae Ploy Red and Green curry pastes. For yellow, I'll often use Indian style hot curry powder (Rani brand with no salt added). I've also tried making my own from whole spices. Still experimenting with that. If you like spicy food, try Berbere also.
 
I am a big fan of Japanese style curry, if you never had it, give it a try (its very different though from the indian)

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As a South African of Indian descent...this offends me a little...but in a hilarious way:). Haha. That said, if you want a mind-blowing curry, come visit Durban, South Africa after this pandemic business is resolved and come have an authentic "Durban mutton curry" with everything made from scratch!
Im happy to host!!
 

TexLaw

Fussy Evil Genius
I am a big fan of Japanese style curry, if you never had it, give it a try (its very different though from the indian)

I've also had Japanese curry and liked it very much. What struck me most was how sweet it was relative to other curries I've had. It also seemed more like a soup or stew, which (I suppose) is one reason it also might be served with udon or bread instead of rice.

There is a similar, Vietnamese version that I can get from a restaurant very close to our home. Like the Japanese version, it's soupier than typical. In fact, it's even looser than the Japanese I've had. Also similar to the Japanese version, they serve it with your choice of bread (baguette, of course), rice vermicelli (instead of udon), or rice.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
I am a big fan of Japanese style curry, if you never had it, give it a try (its very different though from the indian)
I was lucky enough to tour Japan a couple of years back and loved the food despite not eating seafood. I generally had to point to an elaborate model of the dish I wanted, place my order in a sort of vending machine, and then watch my meal cooked before my eyes. I enjoyed the Japanese curries, and I love Indian style, but not Thai - I do not like Coconut or Lemongrass. I much prefer basmati rice but my wife is a Filipina - she eats rice two or three times per day and insists on sticky glutinous rice which is OK but not my preference. She is a fantastic cook though so I'm not complaining 😋
 

Alacrity59

Wanting for wisdom
I like what might be called Indian style curries and use exclusively Pataks pastes. A tip is to use the excess oil on the paste surface to fry onions etc. before adding the paste to make your sauce. When the oil is used up you can add some sunflower oil into the top of the jar ready for the next time you fry. All the varieties are excellent but this is my favourite one.

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I've not found a product from Patak's that I've not enjoyed. Makes things so so easy.
 

cleanshaved

I’m stumped
I've only tried the Maesri green, but liked it.

Where do you find lime leaves?

Look in the freezer at your Asia supply store if you have one.
They also can come in little jars, so may be near the paste.
I find my Kaffir lime leaves on my tree growing in my back yard.

If you can't find it just use the zest of a lime in it's place.



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