Thai curry

The first Thai dictionary from 1873 CE (2416 in the Thai Buddhist calendar) defines kaeng as a watery dish to be eaten with rice and utilizing shrimp paste, onions or shallots, chillies, and garlic as essential ingredients. Coconut milk is not included in this definition and many Thai curries, such as and , do not feature it. Curries in Lanna (northern Thai) cuisine, with only a few exceptions, do not use coconut milk due to coconut palms not growing well, if at all, in the climate of the Thai highlands. The spiciness of Thai curries depends on the amount and kind of chilli used in the making of the paste. Even within one type of curry the spiciness can differ widely. The word "curry" figures in the Thai language as "kari" (), and refers to dishes using either an Indian-style curry powder, known as phong kari in Thailand, or to the dish called kaeng kari, an Indian-influenced curry that is made with spices that are common to Indian dishes but less often used in these proportions in Thai cuisine. Kung phat phong kari (prawns fried with egg and curry powder) is an example of a dish using the Indian style curry powder. Although is also defined as being of "watery" substance, the thickness of the sauce can vary considerably from broth-like to that of a thick stew, and it can even be a completely dry dish. Representatives of dry curries, dishes which are (stir-)fried with a curry paste, are and . and are representatives of the more broth-like curries. and resemble stews. (a steamed fish curry), (curry aspic from northern Thailand) and noodle dishes such as are also seen as Thai curry dishes as they all use curry pastes in their preparation. The dish called is an exception to the rule that a should contain chillies, garlic, onions and shrimp paste. It is a clear Chinese-style meat and/or vegetable broth with mixed vegetables and often also minced pork, tofu and glass noodles. The name translates as "bland curry" but it is seen as being a tom, a soup, and it is therefore also often called tom chuet. ==Typical ingredients==

Curry paste , in southern Thailand Thai curries are always made with a curry paste. Common ingredients used in many Thai curry pastes are: • Shrimp paste • Chillies; depending on the curry these can be dried or fresh, red or green • Onions or shallots • Garlic • Lemongrass • Galangal • Coriander (cilantro) root Depending on the type of curry, additional ingredients for the paste can include spices such as turmeric, pepper, coriander seeds, cardamom pods, and cumin, or other ingredients such as boiled fermented fish, and fingerroot. Ingredients are traditionally ground together with a mortar and pestle, though increasingly with an electric food processor. With many curries, the paste is first stir-fried in cooking oil before other components are added in to the dish. This allows certain flavours in the spices and other ingredients in the paste to develop that cannot be released at the lower temperature of boiling water. Both khrueang kaeng () and nam phrik kaeng () are used to describe "curry paste" in Thailand. The latter is sometimes even shortened to only phrik kaeng (). Thai curry pastes can be made at home from the bare ingredients, bought freshly made at markets in Thailand, or they can be had packaged at shops and supermarkets. Main ingredients Most Thai curries are made with meat, fish or shellfish as their main ingredient. Vegetables and fruit, but also certain tree leaves such as from the Acacia pennata (cha-om) and the Ficus virens (phak lueat), and flowers such as those of the Sesbania grandiflora (dok khae) and banana (hua pli), can be added. Curries that contain mainly vegetables are, for example, kaeng liang (mixed vegetables) Sugar (traditionally palm sugar) is used with curries that need to be sweetened. Besides lime juice, tamarind juice can also see use in sour curries as the souring agent such as in kaeng som. To achieve the most fragrance from the ingredients in a curry paste, the curry paste is often first fried together with vegetable oil or coconut oil that has separated from the coconut cream, before adding in the other ingredients. ==Popular Thai curries==

'' • Yellow curry| (, it is known as "yellow curry" in the West) • , a curry of northern Thai cuisine • green curry| (, it is known as "green curry" in the West) • (, in addition to the curry paste, it uses whatever is available in nature) • red curry| (, it is known as "red curry" in the West) • (, every region has its own variety) • Kaeng thepho (a curry with pork belly, originally made with thepho fish) • (; the name is supposedly derived from "mosalman", an archaic word for "Muslim") • Kaeng ranjuan (a leftover food with spicy, sour, sweet, and salty beef curry seasoned with no more than fermented shrimp paste chili sauce) • (a Burmese-influenced curry noodle soup from northern Thailand) • (the name possibly refers to the Malaysian island state of Penang; this is a creamy and generally mild curry) • (, this Thai curry actually does not contain ginger) ==Gallery==

File:Curry paste fried with coco cream.JPG|Phanaeng paste is fried together with coconut cream File:Kaeng phak lueat.JPG|Kaeng phak lueat, a northern Thai curry with ficus leaves File:Thai style Otah.JPG|Ho mok pla, steamed fish curry File:Khua kling.JPG|Khua kling, an extremely spicy, dry fried curry from southern Thailand File:2014 1204 Khao Soi in Chiang Mai.jpg|Khao soi, a curry noodle soup from northern Thailand File:Kaeng kradang.jpg|Kaeng kradang, a pork curry aspic File:Tom jued tahoo.jpg|Kaeng chuet, not actually a curry but a soup File:Kaeng tai pla34.JPG|Kaeng tai pla, made from fermented fish entrails File:Thai Seafood Curry.jpg|A seafood curry in the United States inspired by the flavors of Thai cuisine File:แกงฮังเล ที่ หลู้ลำ.jpg|Kaeng hang le, a northern Thai curry with Burmese influences ==See also==