# Cooking with curry paste **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 15, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601 "2012-01-15T14:58:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/41 "2012-01-17T01:00:19Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Probably too much trouble to make, but someone might like it: > > 1 tbsp coriander seeds > 2 tbsp cumin seeds > 1 tbsp black peppercorns > 3 stems lemongrass > 1 inch peeled galangal > 2 tsps kaffir lime fruit rind > 6 (fresh) kaffir lime leaves > 5 Thai shallots > 10 cloves garlic > 4 coriander roots > 10 large dried red chillis (deseed and soak in water for 30 mins then squeeze) > 24 dried birds-eye (aka mouse-shit) chillis > .. I do this about two or three times a year, with a big stone mortar and pestle. It’s a hell of a lot of work and time, but the curry paste will have amazing fragrance and subtlety of flavors. BTW: Thai curry paste isn’t just for making stew-type dishes with coconut milk. It’s used for things like pad prik, gwatio, etc. Basically, anything with a curry flavor. You just put it in the stir fry at the time that you would put any other flavoring, and when the curry “breaks,” you fry the meat, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/42 "2012-01-17T01:03:16Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I would be inclined to stirfry the meat first to get nice brown sear on the outside, and the veggies, too, for the same reason. Then take everything out of the wok, make the sauce as you describe and put the meat and veg back in for a few minutes. How does that sound? Or is it important for the raw meat to cook IN the sauce? > > I’m stuck at home as someone is coming to install a water softener, but as soon as he leaves (if he ever gets here!) I’m off to Whole Foods. 🙂 I brown everything in my wok first, then make the curry sauce with the (fake) meat and (real) veggies. This lets some of the flavor get into the food without losing all of the original taste. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/43 "2012-01-17T01:14:45Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I would be inclined to stirfry the meat first to get nice brown sear on the outside, and the veggies, too, for the same reason. Then take everything out of the wok, make the sauce as you describe and put the meat and veg back in for a few minutes. How does that sound? Or is it important for the raw meat to cook IN the sauce? You can do it either way. Usually, you fry up your coconut milk and add the curry paste. Fry until the oil starts to surface. Then add your meat. Cook through (5-7 minutes, usually). When the meat is almost done, add vegetables. You don’t need to simmer for a long time in the curry sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/44 "2012-01-17T01:25:37Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Why would paste be better than powder? It’s not that paste is better. Curry powders consist entirely of ground spices. Pastes, on the other hand, contain wet ingredients such as shallots, lime peel and lemongrass. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/45 "2012-01-17T02:43:53Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I would be inclined to stirfry the meat first to get nice brown sear on the outside, and the veggies, too, for the same reason. Then take everything out of the wok, make the sauce as you describe and put the meat and veg back in for a few minutes. How does that sound? Or is it important for the raw meat to cook IN the sauce? Certainly in Thailand, the raw meat is usually ‘boiled’ in the curry until it’s cooked. It is definitely _never_ browned; it’s pale in color and light in texture. Personally I prefer to do it halfway myself, for reasons of squeamishness - I don’t sear it (you absolutely want the sauce to penetrate the meat so don’t want any barriers to that via tightened protein molecules caused by high heat), but I do make sure it pretty much all looks cooked on the outside via stir-fry before I add the bulk of the liquid. Similarly, authentic recipes don’t really concern themselves with how cooked the veg are - they’re often verging on raw, but they’re cut small, and this gives a nice crunchy textural contrast - but personally I prefer them at least a bit softened. > [@Jeff Lichtman](#): > > It’s not that paste is better. I’d argue strongly that they _are_ better, due to the very presence of the wet ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/46 "2012-01-17T03:29:30Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > It’s not that paste is better. Curry powders consist entirely of ground spices. Pastes, on the other hand, contain wet ingredients such as shallots, lime peel and lemongrass. That’s Thai curry pastes. Indian curry pastes don’t have those ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/47 "2012-01-17T04:10:19Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That’s Thai curry pastes. Indian curry pastes don’t have those ingredients. That’s right. They have other wet ingredients that make them pasty. How does this invalidate what I said? ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/48 "2012-01-17T07:31:30Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Interestingly Tamarind is the defining flavour in Pad Thai. > > I attended a Thai cooking school. I’ll reproduce their red curry paste recipe here. Store-bought pastes use a lot more salt and chilli than home-made, as this has cheap taste impact, but lacks the depth of the fresh paste. > > Note that this is a DIY paste involving cutting everything into 1/4-inch pieces, dry-frying the dry spices until they just begin to toast, then putting in a pestle and mortar and doing a lot of pounding. Probably too much trouble to make, but someone might like it: > > 1 tbsp coriander seeds > 2 tbsp cumin seeds > 1 tbsp black peppercorns > 3 stems lemongrass > 1 inch peeled galangal > 2 tsps kaffir lime fruit rind > 6 (fresh) kaffir lime leaves > 5 Thai shallots > 10 cloves garlic > 4 coriander roots > 10 large dried red chillis (deseed and soak in water for 30 mins then squeeze) > 24 dried birds-eye (aka mouse-shit) chillis > > If you use a blender, which is not preferred as it chops rather than crushes, add 2 tbsps vegetable oil. > > To turn the above into a panang paste, also add: > > 2 star anis > 10 cloves > 1 1/4 inch cinnamon stick > 10 cardamom seeds (not the husk) > 5 tbsps crushed unsalted peanuts (added after the paste is made) > > This makes a lot of paste but can be frozen in an ice-cube tray and kept for 6 months or more. Holy crap that looks good. By 10 cardamon seeds do you mean the seeds from 10 cardamom pods? And is the lime rind fresh or dried? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/49 "2012-01-17T09:28:08Z")
> [@sh1bu1](#): > > Holy crap that looks good. By 10 cardamon seeds do you mean the seeds from 10 cardamom pods? And is the lime rind fresh or dried? No, ten seeds period. Open a cardamom pod or two and take out 10 seeds - them’s powerful strong when dehusked and crushed. ETA: normally cardamoms in dishes are whole and intended to be discarded, so the full mouth-numbing power of the seeds isn’t experienced. Here the seeds are actually to be eaten so should be used sparingly. The kaffir lime fruit zest I used (note: it is NOT a lime, and the fruit is pretty much inedible on its own) was indeed fresh as I was in Thailand, but I suspect you could substitute the zest of a regular lime. If you can’t get fresh kaffir lime leaves, you can often buy frozen ones in Asian supermarkets. Dried ones would probably need to be reconstituted so as not to go powdery and would already have lost a lot of flavor by being dried. BTW per earlier discussion, the recipe for green curry paste that I have doesn’t include basil: the green is from green chillis and optional cilantro. ---
**Author:** ![Walther\_Ego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Walther\_Ego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walther_Ego)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/50 "2012-01-17T10:50:30Z")
Historically, in Europe curry used to mean a coriander-based spice mixture, a powder that was used typically with chicken and rice. The food with this “curry” was not at all Indian, it was very European. We never called the food curry, only the spice. And we never called it curry powder, just curry. But there was a food called “curry sauce”, which was just a regular European sauce with chicken and curry powder. This “curry” was probably a misunderstanding, because curry is originally an Indian food which often, but not always, includes coriander. The new curry pastes are much more the real thing, they resemble the food in an Indian restaurant. You can always use the traditional powder for Indian food, but why restrict yourself to one particular mix of Indian spices when you can mix them yourself? I can only speak for Finland, but judging from some of the confusion, the history looks similar in America. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/51 "2012-01-17T11:29:47Z")
> [@Walther\_Ego](#): > > Historically, in Europe curry used to mean a coriander-based spice mixture I think making such a definitive statement is potentially misleading. The jury is, in fact, out on the etymology of the word, with for example [this 1903 citation](http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:705.hobson), taken from Wikipedia, being as believable as your assertion: > [@](#): > > The word is [Tamil]. kari, i.e. ‘sauce’; [kari, v. ‘to eat by biting’]. The Canarese form karil was that adopted by the Portuguese, and is still in use at Goa. It is remarkable in how many countries a similar dish is habitual ---
**Author:** ![Walther\_Ego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Walther\_Ego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walther_Ego)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/52 "2012-01-17T11:52:53Z")
Okay, I’ll modify that to: historically, when we were kids, curry etc… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/53 "2012-01-17T14:41:00Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > That’s right. They have other wet ingredients that make them pasty. How does this invalidate what I said? I suppose it doesn’t; just pointing out that Indian curry pastes don’t have shallots, lime peel, or lemongrass. Sometimes, the only “wet” ingredient is oil (although usually there is at least fresh ginger in Indian-style pastes). I mean, it should be self-evident that a paste has something wet in it. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/54 "2012-01-17T16:00:42Z")
My curry of choice is a chicken massamam curry. I almost lived off this when I was in Thailand. You’ll need to find tamarind paste though which exists but isn’t easy to find. This curry also uses fish sauce which is basically made by rotting fish and adds a very unique flavour. The dish also contains cashew nuts and potatoes and coconut. Look for a recipe online as I’m still adjusting mine - it comes out a bit bland looking and white which isn’t pretty atop a bed of rice (tastes good though, I need to add green things) and the online ones are just as good! Just use one that includes tamarind rather than lime, cashews rather than peanut putter and includes chillis. I went to a town in Vietnam where fish sauce is made and the whole town reeks, though it was extraordinarily beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/55 "2012-01-17T16:42:46Z")
> [@Walther\_Ego](#): > > Historically, in Europe curry used to mean a coriander-based spice mixture, a powder that was used typically with chicken and rice. The food with this “curry” was not at all Indian, it was very European. We never called the food curry, only the spice. And we never called it curry powder, just curry. But there was a food called “curry sauce”, which was just a regular European sauce with chicken and curry powder. > > This “curry” was probably a misunderstanding, because curry is originally an Indian food which often, but not always, includes coriander. The new curry pastes are much more the real thing, they resemble the food in an Indian restaurant. You can always use the traditional powder for Indian food, but why restrict yourself to one particular mix of Indian spices when you can mix them yourself? > > I can only speak for Finland, but judging from some of the confusion, the history looks similar in America. There is much disagreement over the word “curry”, with one theory being that it is from “karai” the wok-like pan that is used in India. I’m not sure entirely what you are saying, but curry clearly became widely used during England’s colonization of India. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/56 "2012-01-17T19:42:01Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > . . . but I suspect you could substitute the zest of a regular lime. . . Kaffir lime peel is very different from regular lime zest. Some Asian markets carry dried kaffir lime peel. You can soak it in water to rehydrate it before using it in a curry paste. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/57 "2012-01-18T01:46:32Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > You’ll need to find tamarind paste though which exists but isn’t easy to find. Instructions from the cooking school on making tamarind sauce from dried stuff if you can only find that: 1. Put dried tamarind pulp in a pot with 4x the volume of water 2. Add a pinch of salt and sugar. Simmer for 30 mins. It should be thick, but if it gets very dry add a bit more water 3. Sieve to remove seeds and big chunks of pulp 4. Pour into ice-cube bags and freeze ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/58 "2012-01-18T03:17:15Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Instructions from the cooking school on making tamarind sauce from dried stuff if you can only find that: > > 1. Put dried tamarind pulp in a pot with 4x the volume of water > 2. Add a pinch of salt and sugar. Simmer for 30 mins. It should be thick, but if it gets very dry add a bit more water > 3. Sieve to remove seeds and big chunks of pulp > 4. Pour into ice-cube bags and freeze In a pinch, you can also use lime juice to provide the sour component of a massaman curry (which, incidentally, is what I made for dinner tonight. 🙂 With tamarind paste, though.) ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/59 "2012-01-18T05:03:57Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I don’t sear it (you absolutely want the sauce to penetrate the meat so don’t want any barriers to that via tightened protein molecules caused by high heat), but I do make sure it pretty much all looks cooked on the outside via stir-fry before I add the bulk of the liquid. That’s how I was taught (not by professional cooks–just Thai friends who cook a lot). What I’ve come to do is stir fry just the bare minimum. So that doesn’t mean the same things as “sear”? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601/60 "2012-01-18T06:04:24Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > That’s how I was taught (not by professional cooks–just Thai friends who cook a lot). What I’ve come to do is stir fry just the bare minimum. So that doesn’t mean the same things as “sear”? I would take sear to mean use a very high heat and ensure the meat is browned or heat-crusted all over. But Thai food doesn’t call for browned, fried meat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-with-curry-paste/609601.md?page=4)