Different Types of Thai Curries

Curries are an essential part of Thai food and are linked to the dish and the curry paste used as the primary ingredient.

There are different Thai curries, but the famous ones are red, yellow, and green curries.

Each type of Thai curry gets its specific color from the chilies and other ingredients. There are also a few different Thai curries that are not very popular but appetizing.

Traditionally, all Thai curries have similar ingredients except for chilies. But with time, more elements have been added to the recipes to enhance their flavor, giving them a more distinct taste.

Take a look at some of the types of Thai curries, and let us know if we have missed any!

Green Curry (Gaeng Kiew Whan)

Green curry is the most famous Thai curry.

It does not carry much warmth and is quite creamy due to the green chili paste and the coconut milk used in the making.

Green curry is originally from central Thailand and is authentically made with shallots, lemongrass, white pepper, coriander root, garlic, kaffir lime, shrimp paste, and sea salt with green chili paste and coconut milk.

All of these ingredients give this dish a unique taste.

Thai green curry is often made using green vegetables like green eggplant fresh herbs such as sweet basil leaves, but it can also be made using seafood and meat.

Although, it is most often served with chicken or fish balls in Thailand.

Penaeng Curry (Gaeng Penaeng)

Penang curry is not famous among Thai restaurants and is often mistaken for another red curry.

Penang is a mild curry and has a consistency similar to green curry. But it uses less coconut milk than green curry, which also keeps the texture less thick.

Penang curry is slightly spicy and is made with cumin and nutmeg, complemented by long red chilies, shallots, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime rind, coriander root, white pepper, sea salt, and shrimp paste.

It is usually served on the side of a bowl of rice and crowned off with coconut cream.

In Thailand, Panang curry is often made with beef or pork, and depending on location, it can be made with peanuts.

Red Curry (Gaeng Phed)

Dealing with Thai curries is difficult because they are all closely similar, so you can end up complicating one of them with another.

This confusion usually arises from over-simplification or categorizing the curries by color.

It may seem like the only dissimilarity between red and green curry is its color and maybe other ingredients like the choice of fresh herbs or vegetables. Still, the differences are significant.

Both curries have very similar features.

They use an identical Thai paste and coconut milk base, which turns the dish into a soup-like curry sauce; they even use similar cooking methods.

But the Penang dish is on the sweeter side, and the red curry is savory and hotter.

Because red curry is a lot less sweet and savory, it is best served with fatty pork or duck meat.

Sour Orange Curry (Gaeng Som)

This type of Thai curry is more like a soup and uses no coconut milk. The base paste consists of only five ingredients, but it is still one of the spiciest curries.

The sour orange curry paste is created from dried red chilies, ginger shallots, sea salt, and shrimp paste. This dish utilizes tamarind and some tropical fruit like pineapple for a sour taste.

Sour orange curry is usually made with fish or shrimp and any desired and available vegetable.

Massaman Curry (Gaeng Massaman)

Massaman curry is less prevalent in Thai restaurants as it has to be cooked on low heat for a long time. But it is well worth the wait!

You can quickly tell the exact difference between slow and faster-cooked Thai curries.

Massaman is originally from Malaysia; it is pretty favorable and contains coconut milk and other spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

Massaman curry is usually made with scraps of potato and peanuts, making it thicker and stew-like with a mild and sweet taste. This dish is usually chicken, although beef is also a familiar choice.

Jungle Curry (Gaeng Pa)

Jungle curry arises from central Thailand and gets its name from the variety of herbs, vegetables, and ingredients used in its preparation; this dish is packed with flavors but can be very spicy!

It is a water-based dish, and the curry paste used in jungle curry is made from different herbs and chilies.

This Thai curry is generally made with chicken or pork, but some variations of wild meat such as boar or even frog can be used to add an even more exotic taste and savor to the dish.

Yellow Curry (Gaeng Luang)

Yellow curry is another water-based curry and is a relatively spicier version of sour orange curry. This curry is made with a liquid fish base, curry paste, and turmeric, which creates its yellowish color.

Yellow curry is mainly prepared with different types of fish, like seabass, mackerel, or any kind.

This dish uses a handful of exotic ingredients such as bamboo shoots, green papaya, or lotus stems.

Curry is rich and mixed food, and every family has their extraordinary twist to it, but with a pretty constant basis.

Panang Curry

Panang Curry retains much of the same ingredients and is somewhat similar to Red Curry in the shade, except with a sweeter flavor. It is less spicy and highly flavorful when made with vegetarian or stir-fried dishes.

Sour curry paste consists of five ingredients, making it the most detailed curry to produce. It has a slouch evenness than the supplementary curries and is naturally made with fish or pork, equivalent to this Goan curry.

This brings us to the end of various types of Thai curries. To relish the taste of Thai curries, come over to Mint and Basil, the best Thai restaurant in Hong Kong, Tung Chung.