Improvising a flavorful Thai curry
Here's how I make Thai curry when starting from a not-so-great curry paste.
An excellent curry paste is the simplest route to an excellent Thai curry. At least, I would think. It seems that I’ve never actually used an excellent curry paste in any of the Thai curries I’ve made. Too lazy to search further than Whole Foods, I’ve relied for the last few years on the brand Maesri, which is the best of what WF offers. But earlier this year, I learned from Pailin Chongchitnant of Hot Thai Kitchen that Maesri is a middling option; several others are much more flavorful, which she figured out in a fun blind taste test.
So, as I dug my last remaining can of Maesri out of my cupboard a few days ago, there were mixed feelings. On one hand, I’m excited to purchase a large tub of Mae Ploy paste, which I expect to pack much more aromatic punch. But on the other, I’m oddly disappointed that I’ll no longer need to perform the little steps I figured out to make flavorful curries from a weaker paste like Maesri (goodbye, IKEA effect). So that’s kind of the point of this post: to memorialize the add-ins and additional steps I started doing to make my Thai curries taste better, when the paste isn’t really cutting it.
Here are five tips I picked up. [This is just what I like to do! I doubt they’re novel tips, and I hope no one is too offended by my inauthenticity :P1.]
Supplemental dry spices: Add extra dry spices in with your curry paste: feel free to experiment, but coriander, cumin, white/black pepper, and makrut lime leaf are most classic2.
I typically freshly grind the whole spices in my mortar and pestle, but of course pre-ground spices will work fine too; just maybe increase the amount by 50%. I don’t bother toasting the spices, since they’ll bloom in the oil anyway.Supplemental fresh aromatics: Similarly, add extra aromatics: lemongrass, Thai chilies, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, galangal, and shallots are some examples.
These should be diced pretty finely, or if you have a blender, you can blend them directly into some of your coconut milk so they don’t affect the dish’s texture.Sear your meat: I think this step is untraditional, and it’s probably because traditional curry bases are very potent on their own. However, I like the flavor of seared meat, and I think the browned fond gives the final dish more robustness.3
Use a flavorful stock: To achieve the right texture and to let the flavors develop, you’ll simmer the curry with some additional liquid. Water is okay, but if you have a flavorful chicken stock (homemade or storebought), this is the time to use it. Alternatively, I have dried mushrooms in my pantry. They make a quick stock when steeped in boiling water. It’s not the same as a long-simmered chicken or veg stock, but it brings a nice umami-earthiness in its own right.
[Bonus] Enrich the curry’s color: Most “unenriched” Thai green curries are really grey curries. We eat with our eyes as much as our mouths, and it’s really not that hard to achieve a beautiful mint green. Blending in some spinach — better yet, basil — to your coconut milk gives you much control over the final color. Just don’t go overboard with it, or you’ll end up with the not-so-pretty forest green pictured below.
Having intro’d our tips, let’s bring them together into a rough recipe for a green curry. It’s not well-tested, so obviously adjust based on feel. For example, you’ll need to tailor the recipe to your protein: this recipe is written for chicken thighs, but if you’re using a quick-cooking protein like thinly-sliced steak (as pictured) or chicken breast, I’d recommend hard-searing (over high heat, until browned, 2-3 minutes) in a separate pan and just stirring in the meat once the curry is finished.
Recipe: Green Curry with Chicken and Kabocha
Base Ingredients (serves 4-6)
1 can coconut milk, divided in half
4oz can green curry paste, Maesri brand4
1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thigh, diced into 3/4” pieces
One small kabocha squash, ~2 lbs, diced into 3/4” pieces
One red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
A large fistful of roughly chopped basil (or Thai basil, or cilantro)
Fish sauce, to taste (1-2 tbsp)
Palm sugar or brown sugar, to taste (1-2 tbsp / 15-30g)
Supplemental Ingredients
1 tsp whole coriander seed
0.5 tsp whole cumin seed
0.5 tsp whole white or black peppercorns
10 dried makrut lime leaves
Optional aromatics, ordered by priority
1 tsp finely minced lemongrass
4-8 Thai green chilies
1” knob of ginger
4 cloves of garlic
1 shallot
0.5” knob of galangal
1.5 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock, or instant stock from dried mushrooms
An extra handful of basil or spinach
Steps
Heat half the coconut milk over low heat in a 6-qt dutch oven until most of the moisture is driven off, and you’re left with coconut oil. That will take ~10-15 minutes on medium-low.
In the mean time, prepare your supplemental dry spices [Tip #1], if using: grind the coriander, cumin, peppercorns, and makrut lime leaves5 in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.
Prepare your other aromatics [Tip #2]: roughly chop them, and then blend them with the other half of the coconut milk. To improve the green color [Tip #5], also blend in your extra handful of basil or spinach with this half of the coconut milk.
Once the coconut oil has separated in your pot, add your curry paste and dry spice mixture. Stir until well combined and the curry paste & spices are very aromatic, about 1-2 minutes on high.
Add your chicken and stir briefly to combine with the bloomed curry paste, then leave it untouched for 1-2 minutes to sear and develop some color on one side [Tip #3]. You want your chicken to develop browning before too much moisture is released, so it is critical to use high heat and not over-stir (which would result in excess moisture release and cause your meat to steam rather than sear).
Once your chicken has browned, add the coconut milk blended with aromatics, the stock [Tip #4], and the kabocha squash. Add 1 tbsp fish sauce and palm sugar. Bring to a boil and then simmer at medium-low for 15 minutes, or until the kabocha is tender but not falling apart.
Stir in the bell pepper and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Turn off the heat and stir in the basil. Add additional fish sauce and palm sugar to taste. If you like acidity, also feel free to add lime juice or apple cider vinegar to taste.
If you’d like to learn about authentic Thai cooking from experts, Pailin and Leela Punyaratabandhu, have great recipes, among others! Unfortunately, I don’t see many Thai chefs who are well-represented in major food media sources like NYT Cooking or Bon Appetit, however. Please let me know of any of your favorite Thai food writers!
Discerning eyes may notice that the pictured mortar and pestle actually features fennel seed (along with coriander). I don’t think it’s traditional, but neither is it so far off the mark. After all, basil — and Thai basil especially — has a strong fennel-like anise note, and basil is of course a very typical herb in green curry. For a fun chemistry rabbit hole, read about anethole and estragole, which are the compounds underlying this flavor likeness.
I also sear meat in my Indian curries, having been strongly influenced by Western chefs who think that searing is critical to a deep flavor. But my mom never does, and her dishes generally taste more flavorful than mine, so take this tip with a grain of salt…
If you’re making this recipe with another, more flavorful brand (e.g. Mae Ploy, Aroy-D), try starting with half as much curry paste. If you’re using Thai Kitchen brand, perhaps double this amount.
AFAIK, the makrut lime leaves are usually left whole. Since I prefer their flavor to be strong, I grind up the dried leaves. If you happen to be using fresh leaves though, they won’t grind well, so add them in whole while simmering. And by the way, I find that the leaves from a standard orange tree taste fairly similar to makrut leaves, so feel free to substitute fresh leaves from an orange tree if you have access to one.