 Red curry with pork | |
| Alternative names | Kaeng phet |
|---|---|
| Type | Thai curry |
| Place of origin | Thailand |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients |
|
Red curry (Thai:แกงเผ็ด,RTGS: kaeng phet,pron.[kɛːŋpʰèt], lit. 'spicy curry') is aThai dish consisting of redcurry paste cooked incoconut milk with meat such aschicken,beef,pork,duck orshrimp added, or else a vegetarian protein source such astofu.
The base Thai red curry paste (Thai:พริกแกงเผ็ด,RTGS: phrik kaeng phet) is traditionally made with amortar and pestle, and remains moist throughout the preparation process. The red coloring is derived from dry red spur chillies (Thai:พริกแห้งเม็ดใหญ่,RTGS: phrik haeng met yai) – which is driedphrik chi fa red chilies. The main ingredients include (dried) redchili peppers,garlic,shallots,galangal,shrimp paste,salt,makrut lime leaves,coriander root, coriander seeds,cumin seeds,peppercorns andlemongrass.[1] Today, the prepared Thai red curry pastes are available at markets produced in mass quantities, and also available in bottles and jars produced by some brands.
The prepared red curry paste is cooked on a saucepan with cooking oil, to which coconut milk is added.[1] Then the meat as protein source is added into the curry-base soup. Various kinds of meats are used in red curry, such as chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, and duck, and exotic meats such asfrog andsnake meats. The most common, however, are chicken, pork and beef. The meat is cut into bite-sized pieces. Common additives arefish sauce, sugar, choppedmakrut lime leaves,Thai eggplant,bamboo shoots, andThai basil (bai horapha).[2]
Tofu,meat analogues or vegetables such aspumpkin can be substituted as a pseudo-vegetarian option, but due to the presence of shrimp paste in curry paste, substituting protein does not make the dish vegetarian. There are, however, vegetarian red curry pastes available.
This dish normally has a soup-like consistency and is served in a bowl and eaten with steamedrice.
Red curry paste itself is the core flavouring for a number of other dishes suchthot man pla (fish cakes) andsai ua (grilledChiang Mai sausage).
