Red, Green and Panang Thai curries all vary in chilli type, spice levels and flavour. Which one is most suitable for you will very much depend on your palette preference and your tolerance to spice and heat. Fortunately, each curry is delicious in its own right, so whichever you choose, you’re sure to enjoy it. To help you to decide which one you should order (or cook), let’s take a look at the differences between each one.
Thai Red Curry
Thai red curry gets its colour from the red chilli’s used to make the paste. It has a strong, savoury and earthy tone to its flavour and is a medium to hot heat, perfect for anyone who enjoys mild-spicy meals. This is a versatile dish that pairs well with a variety of proteins, particularly beef and other meats, duck, shrimp and even tofu. Red curry paste is made from coconut milk, dried red chilli peppers, garlic, shallots, galangal, shrimp paste and makrut lime leaves. As well as a selection of fresh and dried herbs and seasoning, including salt, coriander seeds and roots, cumin seeds, lemongrass and peppercorn.
Thai Green Curry
Just like Thai Red Curry, the name Green Curry also comes from the colour of the curry itself. Based on coconut milk and fresh green chillis, the green curry is more pungent than its milder red curry counterpart. Just like red curry, the main ingredient in green curry is coconut milk, other ingredients include palm sugar, fish sauce, shrimp paste, green bird’s eye chilli, shallots, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime peel, coriander roots, cumin seeds, white peppercorns, and salt. Thai Green Curry is typically made with meat, such as chicken, but for a more robust green curry it can also be made with seafood. To serve as a meal, pair with white rice, or to create a single dish combine the Thai Green Curry with round rice noodles.
Panang Curry
Also known as phanaeng and phanang, this is a type of red curry that is thick, salty and sweet with a zesty makrut lime flavour. This curry has similar ingredients to a red curry, but it uses a thicker coconut milk and has very little other liquids added, to retain its thick consistency. This makes it a drier, milder and often sweeter variation of the red curry. This meal is usually made with meat cut into thin strips and is typically served with rice.
Spice Levels
If you’re basing your decision as to which curry to choose on the spice levels, here is a quick summer that should help. Thai Green Curry is usually the spiciest of the three, Red Curry is a nice medium spiced curry, while Panang is the mildest and sweetest of the three curries.
