Today a TV chef made a chicken dish with curry paste, a substance she spooned from a tub into the pan with onions. Other ingredients followed.
I’ve never seen curry paste and I’m not sure I’ve even heard of it. I love new foodie things and I want to go out right now and get some and cook something.
Guidance please? What is its relationship, if any, to American-style curry powder? What brands should I look for? I’m doing a lot of stir-frying these days- can I work curry paste into that?
Thx.
Curry paste is easy to use. Some just need water, some need coconut milk (or yogurt; I prefer to use yogurt). The jar or package will have instructions on it.
Stir-fry like normal, then add the paste and yogurt, then eat happily.
Mmmmmmmmm curry.
ETA: Ooops. You asked about brands. Taste of Thai, Kitchen of India and Patak’s are all good brands and fairly easy to find in grocery stores. You may have to go to a place like Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods or Sunflower Market or Fresh & Easy, but you shouldn’t have any trouble finding them.
I use Thai curry pastes regularly.
The curry powder you are talking about is generally an Indian curry flavor rather than a Thai curry.
I don’t know if they have curry pastes for other cuisines, since all I have used is Thai.
It comes in little cans, jars or tubs. I haven’t see it in tubes, but that would be convenient so I wil start looking for it.
Why would paste be better than powder?
For a traditional “saucy” type curry stew (as opposed to a stir-fry with curry flavouring) my recommendation would be to fry the paste first for a few minutes in a little oil, then add the meat an vegetables and coconut milk/yoghurt. If you use yoghurt then remember to use really good thick stuff and add it at the end (less chance of it splitting)
The ones I’ve tried don’t taste better, but different. More hot and a lot less curry-y.
Curry powder at least in the USA, is a single flavor. Curry pastes I’ve found in many different flavors, at least Thai curries.
We’ve always pre-fried the curry paste a bit in oil to open up the flavors, then added meats or other items. Thai red curry has a traditional dish where you don’t add coconut milk; most other Thai curries add coconut milk. I suppose any curry you could do a bit more dry by not adding coconut milk or much other liquid, depending on how much “sauce” you want, even if that’s not the “traditional” preparation.
I don’t know much about Indian or other curries.
This is helpful. I didn’t realize that curry paste was Thai, although I knew that curry powder was Indian.
You can get Indian curry pastes – most of the Patak’s brand pastes will be Indian-style pastes.
Curry paste is not necessarily Thai. In fact most of them are Indian.
And the way I’d prepare something is to pan fry some diced onion until it’s carmelized, add the curry paste (along with some dry spices) and stir, add some tomatoes, stir some more, and then add some (a couple of tablespoons) of yogurt. When the yogurt is fully integrated into the mixture and the oil starts to separate, you can add some skinned chicken, along with a couple of bay leaves and some peppercorns. Also add about half a cup of water. Simmer for about twenty minutes or until the chicken is tender. You’ll then have fresh chicken curry.
I was shopping in a Japanese grocery store the other day and there were lots of boxes and packets of curry-something. I guess they were packets of paste? The Japanese clerk said these were very popular among Americans in Japan. Anyone know anything about these?
What’s the basic flavor difference between Thai and Indian curry pastes?
Some people like the powder better; I like the pastes. (I’m talking Indian curry paste here, more on this in a second). A lot of curry spices dissolve best in oil, so the paste seems to have better flavor to me, and also the spices in the paste are not as finely pulverized, so you have a bit more texture to them, and I reckon that being preserved in oil maintains their pungency and flavor better than being grounded to a fine powder and exposed to air. But that’s just a guess. Also, some of the pastes taste like the spices have been perhaps roasted a bit.
Now, be aware that there is a huge difference in flavor between Indian and Thai curry pastes. They are not interchangeable without changing the basic flavor of the dish. A Thai curry paste is based on ingredients like lemongrass, galangal root, fresh chiles, shrimp paste, Kaffir lime leaves, etc. An Indian curry paste is generally based off cumin and coriander, dried chiles, and fragrant spices like cassia, fennel, cloves, etc. Turmeric, fenugreek, mustard seeds, etc., also figure commonly. A Thai curry paste may have coriander seed and cumin in it as well, but the primary flavors are generally fresh, green, and citrussy.
I have at least 5 different types of curry powder in my spice cabinet. Some are hot, some mild, some are sweeter, some are more savory. Curry powder definitely comes in different flavors in the US. Maybe not in every grocery store, but I’m guessing any grocery store that carries curry paste has more than one flavor of curry powder (in other words, neither are perfectly standard grocery store items that you’d find everywhere. But they’re not super hard to find, either - any even slightly upscale grocer, natural food store, or ethnic food store will probably have both.)
You are quite right, but a US recipe that calls for curry powder almost always means the yellow, Madras-style curry powder that you will see in the typical spice section of your supermarket just labeled as “curry powder” . Go over to the ethnic foods aisle and you’ll see the sorts of things you are talking about.
Yes, but it’s not a single flavor. Those that are generically labeled “curry powder” are wildly different from one another. Read the ingredient list. If there is a commonality to all the generic curry powders, it’s probably the presence of cumin, coriander seed, and turmeric.
They are semi-solid bricks of seasonings and thickeners that are added to water to make a sauce. In Japan they will typically add carrots, onions, and chicken or beef; it’s almost like a curry stew. It is served over rice and is a very popular dish.
For example, here’s McCormick’s curry powder:
Coriander, Fenugreek, Turmeric, Cumin, Black Pepper, Bay Leaves, Celery Seed, Nutmeg, Cloves, Onion, Red Pepper, Ginger.
Here’s Spice Islands curry powder:
Cumin, Coriander, Fenugreek, Ginger, Turmeric, Dill Seed, Black Pepper, Red Pepper, Mace, Cardamom, Cloves
Here’s Spice Supreme:
Mustard, turmeric, coriander, cumin, cloves
I remember getting yelled at by a (Oregon hippy) friend:
“It’s not curry. It’s Hippy Powder!”
That didn’t budge me.
Have you tried this product yourself? If so, do you like it? What flavors do you recommend?
ThelmaLou, the other thing those curry packets might be is pre-made sauces like these, basically you just heat and eat (usually with rice.) They’re OK, similar to the curry dishes you might find in a typical Japanese restaurant here.
this is why I like living near a Penzey’s 