The key to creating an outstanding Thai curry lies in the meticulous crafting of the right paste: the paste is the arbiter of aroma, the curator of flavor, and the masterful artist painting the visual feast.
No singular ‘perfect’ curry paste recipe exists. Curry pastes are as diverse as the dishes they enhance and the paste must complement various proteins such as chicken, pork, seafood and others.
This article introduces “permeability” – the interaction between the paste and the ingredient; the concept recognizes that the paste will assertively contribute its character while selectively enhancing inherent flavors.
Achieving optimal permeability requires fine-tuning the paste’s diffusion properties to suit each protein type. Lighter pastes go well with delicate seafood, allowing the subtle flavors to prevail. Robust meats benefit from thicker pastes, which permeate the protein’s density without muting its rustic, gamy qualities.
While recipes offer valuable wisdom, permeability focuses attention on core principals of balancing roots, herbs and spices to achieve the ideal synergy between curry paste and main ingredient.
This water-based, spicy chicken curry is made with corn-yellow rendered chicken fat instead of coconut cream. Dark reddish-brown in color, this full-bodied and fatty beak-to-tail curry presents the chicken identity and personality in both a corporeal and tasty manner. Spices such as cardamom, nutmeg, mace and clove are added into the curry paste to temper the gamey-irony flavor of the offal and deodorize the meat, resulting in a luscious dish that is beautifully layered with textures and flavors.
At first glance, this chicken and pineapple curry might seem ordinary or plain. After all, even though spicy curries with sour notes have been relished for ages, they feature repetitive patterns that could be viewed as common and perhaps uninteresting. However, with a calculated yet simple approach, this curry turns corners – quite literally – into a dish with a new flavor melody. It is thus referred to by its author, Mrs. Samaknantapol (Jeep Bunnag) (นางสมรรคนันทพล, จีบ บุนนาค), as laak laai roht, a “curry with manifold flavors (หลากหลายรส)”.
The type of chilies – fresh, dried or rehydrated – and how they are processed into the curry paste have a significant influence on the dish’s flavor, color, aroma and heat profile. Fresh chilies inject an immediate, sharp spike of heat that rushes in with a piercing, punctuating intensity, a grassy aroma and fruity liveliness. Dried chilies, on the other hand, impart a subtle warmth alongside rich, earthy notes that gradually build up into a steady, lingering burn. The choice of the chili variety will also shape the curry’s flavor. Through an informed selection and processing of chilies, cooks can navigate between mild and spicy, fruity and earthy, and bright and mellow flavors, creating a complex and nuanced heart for their curries.
