Curry pastes.

Cafe Society
1

Being the lazy sod that I am but still enjoying Thai curries, I was wondering whether a pre-made curry paste is really adequate, or should I get off my butt and make the stuff from scratch?

I buy a brand called MAE PLOY which comes in red, green and yellow varieties and is bonza for Lazy Cooks like me (provided I add extra condiments and coconut milk etc). The ingredients listed (in the Red variety) are “Red Chilli, Garlic, LemonGrass, Salt, Shallots, Galangal, Shrimp Paste, Kaffir Lime Peel, Pepper…no preservatives or colourant added”

Is the home-made, mortar and pestled stuff really any better, or am I doing myself a disservice by not making my own??

2

Quite simply, of course it is. However, there’s nothing wrong with the paste. What I usually do when I’m feeling lazy is cut the curry paste in with whatever fresh ingredients I have on hand. Fresh galangal, fresh garlic, fresh lemongrass, whatever I happen to have around.

3

For the hack cook, Mae Ploy is a godsend. It’s a snap to toss out a batch of red curry chicken, and it comes out pretty damn great. I have a Thai friend who I consider a pretty great cook and that’s what she uses. I took a Thai cooking class and they also used the paste. Plus, the crap never seems to go bad.