/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.4822799]

Dammit /ck/ my red Thai curry is missing something. It needs a little flavor, its so close to tasting like restaurant curry but I have no idea what that is! I think it needs a chile pepper, but that's not everything. What secret ingredients do you put in your red curry?

[Anonymous No.4822838]

Galangal ginger. Fish sauce. Shrimp paste? Sometimes they use chili pastes as well. You have lemongrass too right?

>restaurant
MSG and artificially flavored cooking oil.

[Anonymous No.4822945]

>>4822799
If I knew what you put into your curry to begin with, and where you think it's lacking in taste, I might be able to help, but otherwise it's just throwing darts in the dark. Other factors will influence taste as well, like cooking technique/procedure and age/quality of ingredients.

[Anonymous No.4823696]

>>4822945
>If I knew what you put into your curry to begin with, and where you think it's lacking in taste, I might be able to help
Word.

Questions like this really chap my ass. See posts all the time thinking people are psychic or something.

>>4822799
>What secret ingredients do you put in your red curry?
Enough salt.
Nam pla.
Curry leaves.
Thai chilli peppers.

[Anonymous No.4823707]

It's probably missing some arm hair and fingernail dirt.

[Anonymous No.4823720]

>>4822838
>>4823696
You're right, my mistake. It's this recipe (pic) with oyster sauce substituted for fish sauce (didn't have fish sauce, couldn't find it in the store when I went) and no chili pepper which I intend to add next time for heat. I also think it needs to be creamier, but I don't think another can of coconut milk will solve that will it?

[Anonymous No.4823730]

>>4823720

I forgot to mention I used red curry paste instead of green, I have a feeling I'd catch flak for posting a green curry recipe and mentioning I made a red curry. It should largely be the same since I'm just using paste.

[Anonymous No.4823738]

>>4822799

Leave out the fish or oyster sauce, you don't need it in a thai curry.

try using different brands of curry paste and coconut milk. this can make a huge difference in the outcome.

if you wanna try and fine kafir lime leaves, you could try adding that.. and some thai basil. but you will probably have a hard time finding the lime leaves... the thai basil will make a big difference.

[Anonymous No.4823741]

Op, have you tried adding some tamarind into your curry? Dilute the paste with some water first.

[Anonymous No.4823744]

>>4823720
>>4823730

OK, now we're getting somewhere.

First issues I noticed:

1) No nam pla (fish sauce). That's a biggie. Get some.

2) You're also missing the ginger/galanga, shallots, and curry leaves, plus that's not much lemongrass. "one stalk" is as long as your arm. That little piece shown in the photo is not enough.

3) It should be very creamy with two cans of coconut milk. If yours is not creamy then the problem is the brand of coconut milk you're using. Good coconut milk has quite a high fat content. When you open then can there should be a very thick layer that occupies the top 1/3 or so of the can. You should not be able to pour it out; you would need to use a spoon. That's good coconut milk. The stuff shown in the photos is very watery, that means it's a crappy brand. Make sure you're getting proper coconut milk. It should be just as thick as heavy whipping cream with a fatty layer on top that requires a spoon to get out of the can. It will be plenty creamy with the proper ingredient.

[Anonymous No.4823746]

>>4823741
I have not, tamarind sounds kind of what I'm looking for though.
>>4823744
That's excellent, I will be trying this modified recipe again soon. What brand of coconut milk would you recommend, and where can I get it? There isn't an Asian grocery store by me.

[Anonymous No.4823769]

>>4823746

I like the pic related brand. It certainly has the proper kind of fat content.

What's funny is that I've heard from other anons that this brand isn't very highly regarded for its other products--and that might be true--but I can vouch for the fact that it's coconut milk is the real deal. I see it at all the Asian markets I shop at; it's also stocked in the "Asian section" in many normal supermarkets in my area.

Anyway, if you can't spot pic related then you can do pretty well by simply reading the nutritional information on the can. Good coconut milk will have a high fat content, so buy whichever brand you find that has the highest fat.

[Anonymous No.4823800]

I make Isan/Lao red curry (which Thai call 'country style').

It uses Thai smoked paprikas (pic related), red sky pointing chilies, shallots, garlic, lemongrass hearts (Thai use the whole lemongrass, but Isan/Lao use only the hearts, the outer parts of lemongrass being used the same way as laurels in western cuisines), galanga and roasted shrimp paste.
The spices are simple: heavy amount of cuminseed with a bit of dillseed and corianderseed.

Toast seeds until cumin begins to pop, then pound into powder.

Soak the paprikas in hot oil to soften.
Pound, grate or blitz everything smooth (with coconut cream), including paprikas and oil, then stir in the spices.

Done.

Isan/Lao red curry is known for its smokey, pungent/hot taste but is not well-known in the West.

[Anonymous No.4823809]

>>4822799
tom yum paste. Make it at home. You're welcome.

[Anonymous No.4823810]

Sprinkle some baked pumpkin seeds on top.

I think it works well. Otherwise, bamboo shoots are the best addition to thai curry, along with snow peas or baby corn.

[Anonymous No.4823813]

>>4823809

Why would OP want a paste for making a hot and sour soup when he's asking about curry?

[Anonymous No.4823817]

>>4823813
because i make it and wanted to say something? Damn, not /b/

[Anonymous No.4823831]

>>4823744
Coconut cream is used as cooking fat. You cook coconut cream with the paste until the cream breaks, then add coconut milk and/or broth (depending on the curry style) to fill the curry.
Also, I don't know what 'curry leaves' are. I do not think they are used by the Thai people or the Isan or Lao unless you mean something that is called by a different name in Thai or Isan/Lao. Maybe pandan leaves or longan leaves or lime leaves? I don't know of any Thai ingredient that is called 'curry leaf,' sorry. Do you know the name in Thai or (preferably) in Isan/Lao?

[Anonymous No.4823840]

>>4823831

I don't know what it is called in Thai or Lao but you can probably find it from the wikipedia article link.

Here's the article in English; on the left side of the window you can see the links to the same thing in other languages:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry_leaves

BTW, I know for a fact that it's not "kaffir lime". I use those in other dishes and they are very different from "curry leaf"

[Anonymous No.4823945]

>>4823720
>no chili pepper which I intend to add next time for heat
This should be a hot dish, with the chilli very much to the fore. So if the curry paste isn't hot enough then I would deffo add more.

A sprinkling of white pepper is also something you might like to try (easy substitute for the flavour of long pepper which is used in some East-Asian cooking).

2 cans of coconut milk is complete overkill IMO, but obviously it depends on hot fatty or watery the stuff in the can is.

Fish sauce is often considered a prime ingredient for the authentic flavour of Thai curries, but it's not an absolute must-have. A little soy and a single anchovy fillet mashed up and sautéed off with the paste at the start goes a long way toward simulating the flavour if you can't find nam pla locally.

If you can get it locally and it's a large bottle and you're afraid it might go off don't worry about that, stuff is immortal far as I can tell. I've used bottles that were 5 years past date still tasted exactly like it's supposed to.

[Anonymous No.4824136]

>>4823840
That is not used in Thai cooking. I looked it up. I asked around. Thai do not know it, sorry. Khmer and Shan use it and Malay too, but not Thai.