What's the diff. between red, green, and yellow Thai curry pastes?!
What's the diff. between red, green, and yellow Thai curry pastes?
Answers: Great info & recipes:
http://thaifood.about.com/od/thaicurrypa...
Green curry and red curry are easily the most popular curries, utilizing chili peppers, garlic, lemon grass, and coconut milk, among other essential herbs and spices, depending upon the region or brand. Chefs may also have their own particular variations. Green curry is made with fresh, young green chilis, and is significantly hotter than other curries.
Red curry is made with bigger red chilis, which are not as hot as their green counterpart, but still packing significant heat. Green curry tends to lean toward a sweeter flavor, while red explores the savory side.
Yellow curry is highly aromatic and brightly colored due to roasted spices and an infusion of turmeric, and is typically paired with fish or poultry. The curry has a rich, bold taste, sweet with subtle hints of spices, and is effectively hot without being overpowering. Yellow curry hails from southern Thailand and is usually made with the addition of yellow peppers.
Masaman curry is by far the sweetest of all the curries, and is an excellent pairing with shrimp or chicken. A rich authentic flavor, usually with hints of tangy tamarind, this mildly hot curry is actually Indian-influenced, and is a popular favorite. A good introduction to curry if you are wary of trying something overly hot.
Panang Curry shares many of the same ingredients and is very similar in flavor to Red Curry, save for a slightly sweeter taste, and is slightly less fiery on the tongue. It is extremely flavorful when made with vegetarian dishes or stir-fries. color? Red is based on chilis, green on green chilis and cilantro, yellow is more turmeric and a masaman style spice base.
The red is the hottest, the yellow is next green is the mildest and is more fragrant, I prefer the red as it has the most complex taste, I like the yellow more for veg anf fish.
It is best to try all of them and make your choice, I like beef and chicken for the red, pork and seafood for the green, I also use the thai eggplant and sour gourds to make it more traditional. the color for sure and the taste as well.
Yellow curry is usually mild: its flavor comes from turmeric, cashews and a more Indian kinda spices.
Green can range from peppy to fiery hot depending on the chef. its flavor comes from Thai basil, gala-gal, green chillies etc.
Red curry is supposed to be the hottest. its flavor is full of red pepper, dried shrimp and often curry powder. Red and Yellow are easiest on your palate and perfect if you've never had curry before. Yellow has a slightly minty taste, red has a more peppery taste, and green has a larger combination of herbs, spices and a more recognizable coconut taste. Masaman is a combination of sweet and sour and panang has a slight peanut butter taste. Sounds good huh :) just to simplify it red =hot yellow= medium hot green=mild
just different lvls of spice