Easy Thai Curry

OK, so I promised this blog would be about real cooking and real technique, but I do have a confession to make. I can’t seem to make good Thai curry from scratch. It’s not from lack of effort. I’ve bought the fresh lemongrass, thai peppers, authentic spices, etc and made it all from scratch. I even posted my first attempts here.  What can I say? This stuff works quite well, to be honest.

I’ve discovered these Thai pastes at the local Asian market. Mae Ploy brand. Try them… they work. Follow the directions on the back of the label (you will need some coconut milk, fish sauce (replaces salt), sugar and some extra hot peppers, if desired).  Simmer your sliced meat and vegetables in the resulting curry sauce and “viola”.

I don’t even think of it as cheating, too much, because the ingredient list is just the things you would normally put into a food processor and blend together.  And some of them are hard to find.  Things like lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, thai ginger, etc.  I don’t see any chemicals or weird stuff on the list. I believe this paste forms the base of many restaurant curries, so it can’t be that bad.

Asian grocery stores carry this stuff, or have a look on Amazon.