Understanding the Differences Between Thai Curries - The Giant of Siam (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between Massaman and Panang curry? ›

Massaman has much more complex in flavour and includes ingredients like mace (outer covering of nutmeg), cinnamon, clove and cardamon. These additional ingredients make this dish towards Malaysian and Indian flavours. Panang Thai curry is basically Red Thai curry's sister, just a sweeter and milder version!

Traditionally, all Thai curries were made with the same ingredients except for one thing: the chillies. Red curry was made with several red chillies for a fiery hot dish, while green curry was made with green chillies, and yellow curry was made with yellow chillies.

In general, Thai yellow curry is the mildest, Thai red curry is medium-hot and Thai green curry is spicy, although it can sometimes vary depending on what region of Thailand you are in.

Massaman curry paste, or Prik Gaeng Massaman, uses similar ingredients like Yellow curry paste, but has more aromatics, such as, cardamom seeds, cloves, cumin seeds and cinnamon. They are usually roasted before being grounded and mixed with other ingredients which give Massaman an extra fragrance.

Panang - A similar paste to red, panang curry paste is more aromatic because of the addition of cumin, coriander seeds, and roasted peanuts. The peanuts also give panang its uniquely rich sauce.

A famed tradition Indo-Guyana is 7 curry. It is generally served in a water-lily leaf, and is rice with seven different curries, which are traditionally pumpkin, bagee (spinach), catahar, potato/ channa (chick peas), balange (eggplant), edoe, and dahl.

Green Thai Curry is considered the hottest of all curries that will give you that burning but tasty flavor all over your mouth. For those who think that red curry is the spiciest among the Thai curries, it's about time to change this mindset.

Yellow curry is perhaps the mildest (although this can vary widely by restaurant and who's in the kitchen!), usually with more turmeric, shallots, garlic, and ginger. Potatoes often make an appearance in yellow curry, along with chicken and onions.

The secret to making amazing Thai curries is to use plenty of aromatics, like onion, ginger and garlic. Choose full-fat coconut milk for its richness (you won't regret it!). Stirring in just a little bit of rice vinegar and sugar adds tons of complexity.

Both coconut cream and milk are staples in Thai cuisine, often used as a base for soups and curries. Choosing the right coconut milk can make all the difference to your dish.

What curry is closest to Massaman? ›

Yellow curry is something else to try if you want to stick to the stewy, rich curry similar to massaman. I have both yellow curry chicken and yellow curry with beef.

Massaman curry is most popular in Southern Thailand but can be found in other parts of Thailand as well. The curry is an all-time favourite that most Thai people love to eat- not only because it is easy to make, but also because it contains many health benefits.

Like its red and green counterparts, massaman curry gets its creaminess from coconut milk. But this version is made with peanuts and potatoes, so it's often higher in calories. One cup can have more calories than a cheeseburger and fries -- and twice as much fat.

Massaman curry: Masaman curry is one of the sweetest styles of curry. It's a Thai style, but is also influenced by many varieties of Indian curry. Rather than spices, most of masaman curry's flavor comes from cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, according to Traveling 9 to 5.

Green Curry

With coconut milk as one of the main ingredients, there is a hint of sweet flavoring as well. Because the green curry paste is made with green chilis, it is far hotter than other curries.