Thai curries (แกงไทย) Archives

gaaeng muu yaang gap gluay dip ; แกงหมูย่างกับกล้วยดิบ

Old-Fashioned Thai Red Curry of Grilled & Smoked Pork Neck and Unripe Green Bananas (แกงหมูย่างกับกล้วยดิบ ; gaaeng muu yaang gap gluay dip)

Thai red curry is a broad term describing any curry that is red in color, although variations exist among the dish’s ingredients or their ratios. Today’s menu features a Thai red curry paste to which we add higher quantities of coriander root and kaffir lime zest; this creates a more aromatic character that will enhance the smokiness of the grilled pork meat and the mild sweetness of the unripe green bananas.

Northern Style Hang Lay Curry (gaaeng hang laeh muu ; แกงฮังเลหมู)

This recipe comes all the way from India through the northern Burmese border. The masala spice mix is still sold in small packages with retro looking prints that seem to forever exist. There is no way in a recipe to communicate what's going on in here; a thick red chili paste marinate, that bursts in orange turmeric color, provides the perfect seen to the tender, almost falling apart, pork meat.

Minced-Bird Style Curries - A Peek Into Traditional Ingredients and Cooking Methods (แกงสับนก; Gaaeng Sap Nohk)

Khao Soi Recipe, Northern Style Curried Noodle Soup with Chicken
(khaao saawy gai ; สูตรทำข้าวซอยไก่)

This dish (Khao Soi Recipe) takes us back in time to the mid-19th century. The trade caravans were trailing the jungles of northern Thailand along the ancient routes between India and China. Those long caravans were carrying wealth of exotic goods, leaving rich aroma of spices and the sweet scent of opium as they passed. The men on this long line of between fifty and one hundred mules would be Yunnanese Muslim Chinese, who dominated the trade routes and began to settle in Chiang Mai and the main towns of north Thailand at that time.

The Secret Healing Powers of Siamese Curries – A Closer Look at Gaaeng Yaa (แกงยา)

Thai Coconut Curry of Steamed Mackerels and Lotus Stems
(gaaeng gathi saai buaa bplaa thuu neung ;
แกงกะทิสายบัวปลาทูนึ่ง)

This old-fashioned Thai coconut curry dish is a simple expression made with ingredients commonly available to Thais, it features steamed mackerels - the fish that Thai people probably love the best and the stems of the lotus flowers - one of Buddhism's most recognized motifs. The fish together with peeled lotus stems are boiled in coconut milk, to which a simple yet very aromatic curry paste, made only of white pepper corns, shallots and fermented shrimp paste is added.

Into The Woods – The Story of Jungle Curry (แกงป่า; gaaeng bpaa)

c1933 Manifold flavors curry – a chicken and pineapple spicy curry (แกงเผ็ดหลากหลายรส; gaaeng phet laak laai roht)

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)”.

Crab and Spring Onion Coconut-Based Curry (แกงคั่วปูกับต้นหอม; Gaaeng Khuaa Bpuu Gap Dtohn Haawm)

Preparing a crab curry is an exercise in culinary diplomacy, wherein the challenge lies in negotiating the distinct flavors of land and sea into a cohesive understanding and capturing the perfect balance. This golden gastronomic horizon is where the delicate whispers of the ocean meet earth’s bold declarations – and at its core is a straightforward question: How do we craft a curry that testifies, via crab, to the ocean’s bounty, yet remains grounded in the earth’s aromatic flora, with roots like galangal and turmeric? In addition, it is challenging to create a curry that is luxuriously creamy, yet light and not too greasy; where the crab’s delicate natural sweetness surfaces as a pleasant sea breeze, levitating above the pitfalls of being too fishy or overly sweetened. Another hurdle is achieving the precise color – produced by red chilies, golden turmeric and peppercorns – that reflects the culinary traditions of southern seashore fishing communities. I like mine set to about a 70:30 ratio of yellow to red and, if using black peppercorns, with a deep brown undertone.

Southern Thai Ancient Fermented Fish Innards Curry with Grilled Catfish (แกงไตปลาปลาดุกย่างโบราณ ; gaaeng dtai bplaa bplaa dook yaang)

แกงไตปลาปลาดุกย่างโบราณ - Fermented fish innards curry is a dense curry made of fermented fish innards is dark coffee-brown in color – a salty, fiery hot dish, it grips the palate in an intense umami embrace. As the flagship dish in the repertoire of spicy southern Thai cuisine, it comes in different versions: some are water based; some have a base of coconut cream. But whatever the style, it is a fiercely hot dish that features both dried and fresh chilies.

Thai Salad of Chicken and Seven Vegetables Blanched in Coconut Milk and Served With Sour-Salty and Sweet Coconut Curry Dressing, Crispy Fried Shallots and Roasted Sesame Seeds
(yam thawaai ; ยำทวาย)

This recipe would probably change your perception about the term "salad", maybe because its dressing has a multi layered, curry-like personality, rather than the common sour vinaigrette-like dressing, or maybe because it takes some good few hours to prepare, somewhat longer than simply opening a bag of hydroponic greens. This salad is the fruit of the dedication of court ladies from aristocratic households, that for centuries perfected and elaborated on the art of cooking through detailed and calculated process, to create sophisticated dishes that are not only delicious but also very healthy and visually pleasing. These ladies made a very large commitment for small things, and they attended all their time and efforts to make minor things better and getting the small things just right.

Perfumed Braised Beef and Potato Curry with Three Gingers, Thai Basil and Bitter Orange (แกงเนื้อใส่เปราะหอมสดและส้มซ่า; Gaaeng Neuua Sai Bpraw Haawm Soht Lae Sohm Saa)

Discovered in a memorial book for the funeral of SubLt. Soophoht Jeungpraphaa (ร.ต. สุพจน์ จึงประภา) (1925-1966), this beef and potato curry dish unites two distinct curry styles: Massaman curry, known for its sweet and warming complexity of dry spices, punctuated by the vibrancy of bitter orange juice; and gaaeng phet (แกงเผ็ด) spicy curry, dominated by a basil herbal identity. The recipe maintains a sense of traditional elegance despite the startlingly unusual culinary fusion; as these two cooking styles are woven together, their spiced comfort, earthy warmth, citrusy freshness, and cool herbaceous notes meld in a gentle refinement. Drawing upon familiar and novel elements, this curry is both comforting and stimulating. Massaman curry typically presents as a deep, rich dish. Its unique flavor profile is derived predominantly from a range of dry spices that point to its Persian-inspired roots in Siamese cuisine, along with a curry paste that exudes a sense of freshness. The dried chilis are roasted to deepen their color; the rest of the ingredients, such as the shallots, garlic and dry spices, are roasted too, individually, before being pounded into the paste. Conversely, the gaaeng phet (แกงเผ็ด) curry integrates dry spices more sparingly and is known for flavor qualities that are based on a phrik khing (พริกขิง) paste made of fresh aromatics and a basil herbal identity.

Reflections on the Lifecycle of Heat: Mastering Vibrancy and Maturity in Green Curry (แกงเขียวหวาน)

Thai Curries: The Professional Chef's Guide - แกงไทย

Pan Roasted Duck Breast and Hairy-Fruited Eggplant Curry (แกงเป็ดคั่วมะอึก; gaaeng bpet khuaa maeuk)

The hairy-fruited eggplant, known as ‘maeuk’ in Thai, is similar to the tomato in its unique confluence of sweetness, fruitiness, and savoriness. This ingredient is used in a wide range of Siamese dishes, including curries, salads, relishes, and seasoned rice dishes. This recipe, from the central region of Thailand, is a traditional duck khuaa sohm curry (แกงคั่วส้มเป็ด) that commonly uses garden ingredients to achieve sourness, including the madan (garcinia schomburgkiana) (มะดัน), the sour bilimbi fruit (averrhoa bilimbi) (ตะลิงปลิง), and the hairy-fruited eggplant.

The Golden Trails of Curry Powder - เรื่องราวของผงกะหรี่

Saen Tung-Style Jungle Curry with Beef and Bamboo Shoots (แกงป่าเนื้อใส่หน่อไม้ แบบแสนตุ้ง; gaaeng bpaa neuua sai naaw mai baaep saaen dtoong)

This is my take on the famous jungle curry from the Saen Tung district in Trat province. In Trat it is usually cooked with game meat and thinly sliced pineapple shoots (แขนงสับปะรด).

Patterns – Decoding the Complexity of Siamese Curry Paste: A Multidimensional Exploration

Chiang Mai-Style Chicken Gaaeng Garee (แกงเผ็ดกะหรี่เชียงใหม่ ; gaaeng phet garee chiang mai)

I discovered this unusual curry recipe hidden in a 1970 memorial book for Ms. Bootree Gralaksa. Born in Bangkok in 1898, Ms. Bootree spent her entire life, from childhood on, in a wooden house on Maha Chak Road (Pra Nakorn). One could say that she was born to be a great cook; just fourteen years old when her mother died, Ms. Bootree became the sole caregiver for her four siblings, a duty that she performed with a love and attention that endowed her with remarkable cooking skills. Her memorial book showcases now-forgotten dishes that were popular in the Bangkok of the early 1900s, such as Beautiful Curry (แกงหงษา ; Gaaeng Hohng Saa), and also includes some of her one-of-a-kind culinary creations – such as this dish, which she dubbed “Chiang Mai-Style Spicy Curry”.

Minced-Bird Curry with Fish (ปลาช่อนแกงนก; Bplaa Chaawn Gaaeng Nohk)

Lady Plean Passakornrawong’s historic, first-ever recipe for minced-bird curry with snakehead fish revives the old minced-bird curry syle. The fish is minced and cooked with the curry paste, producing a hearty and comforting thick-textured curry.

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