 A bowl ofkaeng phet pet yang, roast duck in red curry | |
| Type | Curry |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Thailand |
| Main ingredients | |
Thai curry (Thai:แกง,romanized: kaeng,pronounced[kɛ̄ːŋ]) is a dish inThai cuisine made fromcurry paste,coconut milk or water, meat, seafood, vegetables or fruit, and herbs.Curries in Thailand mainly differ from theIndian subcontinent in their use of ingredients such as fresh rhizomes, herbs, and aromatic leaves rather than amix of dried spices.
The first Thai dictionary from 1873CE (2416 in theThai Buddhist calendar) defineskaeng as a watery dish to be eaten with rice and utilizingshrimp paste, onions or shallots,chillies, and garlic as essential ingredients.[1] Coconut milk is not included in this definition and many Thai curries, such askaeng som andkaeng pa, do not feature it. Curries inLanna (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 theThai highlands. Thespiciness 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 theThai language as"kari" (Thai:กะหรี่), and refers to dishes using either an Indian-stylecurry powder, known asphong kari in Thailand, or to the dish calledkaeng 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 theIndian style curry powder.[2]
Although"kaeng" is also defined as being of "watery" substance, the thickness of the sauce can vary considerably frombroth-like to that of a thickstew, and it can even be a completely dry dish. Representatives of dry curries, dishes which are (stir-)fried with a curry paste, arephat phrik khing andkhua kling.[3][4]Kaeng som andkeang pa are representatives of the more broth-like curries.Matsaman andkaeng khua[5] resemble stews.Ho mok pla (asteamed fish curry),kaeng kradang[6] (curryaspic from northern Thailand) and noodle dishes such askhanom chinnam ngiao[7] are also seen as Thai curry dishes as they all use curry pastes in their preparation.
The dish calledkaeng chuet is an exception to the rule that akaeng 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 andglass noodles. The name translates as "bland curry" but it is seen as being atom, a soup, and it is therefore also often calledtom chuet.[1]
Curries are eaten in combination with rice, the long-grainedjasmine rice incentral andsouthern Thailand andsticky rice innorthern andnortheastern Thailand, and with noodles such askhanom chin (fermented rice noodles). Certain curries can also be eaten withroti, the Thai version of the Indian-style friedflat bread fromMalaysia calledroti canai.
Khao kaeng orkhao rat kaeng, meaning "curry-on-rice", is a traditional type offast food restaurant in Thailand which specialises in ready-made curries, and often several other dishes as well, served with rice. Their popularity inBangkok as a place for a quick lunchtime meal is in decline.[8]
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Thai curries are always made with acurry paste.[9] Common ingredients used in many Thai curry pastes are:
Depending on the type of curry, additional ingredients for the paste can include spices such asturmeric,pepper, coriander seeds,cardamom pods, andcumin, or other ingredients such as boiled fermented fish,[10] andfingerroot.Ingredients are traditionally ground together with amortar and pestle, though increasingly with an electricfood processor. With many curries, the paste is first stir-fried incooking 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.[11]
Bothkhrueang kaeng (lit. 'kaeng ingredients') andnam phrik kaeng (lit. 'kaeng chilli paste') are used to describe "curry paste" in Thailand. The latter is sometimes even shortened to onlyphrik kaeng (lit. 'kaeng chilli').
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.[12]
Most Thai curries are made with meat, fish orshellfish as their main ingredient. Vegetables and fruit, but also certain tree leaves such as from theAcacia pennata (cha-om) and theFicus virens (phak lueat), and flowers such as those of theSesbania grandiflora (dok khae)[13] andbanana (hua pli),[14] can be added. Curries that contain mainly vegetables are, for example,kaeng liang (mixed vegetables)[15] andkaeng nomai (bamboo shoots).[16] Ingredients were dictated by regional and seasonal availability: bothpork andchicken (possibly first domesticated from wildjungle fowl in what is now Thailand)[17] are easily available, and so are many varieties of fish, and shellfish, both fresh water species from the many rivers, lakes and rice paddies, as well as salt water species from theAndaman Sea and theGulf of Thailand. Other traditional ingredients in Thai curries includefrogs,snakes,snails,wild birds andgame such asSambar deer andwild boar.[18] Commonly used vegetables in curries areThai eggplant (makhuea pro),yardlong beans (thua fak yao), and different types ofsquash andpumpkins (fak).
Freshkaffir lime leaves (bai makrut),fingerroot (krachai), or fresh herbs such asThai basil (horapa) are often added to Thai curries. Kaffir lime leaves andkrachai are often cooked along with the other ingredients but fresh herbs such as Thai basil are nearly always added at the last moment to preserve the full taste and serve as a contrasting note to the flavours of a curry.Fish sauce is not only used when cooking the curry as a flavouring and for its salty taste, but it is usually also available at the table as acondiment, mixed together with sliced greenbird's-eye chillies for those that prefer their curries more salty and spicy.[19] Sugar (traditionallypalm 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 inkaeng 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 thecoconut cream, before adding in the other ingredients.
Media related toCurry dishes of Thailand at Wikimedia Commons
