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The jar you buy decides whether your curry tastes like Thailand or like a supermarket ready meal. Read the first three ingredients.
Which curry paste should you buy?
Buy a Thai brand where chilli, lemongrass or galangal leads the ingredients list, not water, salt or sugar. Mae Ploy and Maesri are the two names most cooks reach for in the UK. They are far stronger than supermarket pastes, so start with half what a British recipe tells you.
The main Thai pastes
| Paste | Heat | Built on | Good with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green | Hottest | Fresh green chilli, lemongrass, galangal | Chicken, aubergine, fish |
| Red | Medium | Dried red chilli, garlic, shrimp paste | Beef, duck, prawns |
| Yellow | Mildest | Turmeric, cumin, coriander seed | Chicken, potato |
| Massaman | Mild | Cinnamon, cardamom, star anise | Slow cooked beef or lamb |
| Panang | Medium | Red chilli plus peanut | Beef, chicken, thicker sauces |
Green is hotter than red, which surprises people. The colour comes from the chilli, not the strength.
What to look for on the label
- Real aromatics first. Chilli, lemongrass, galangal, garlic, shallot. If water and salt lead, the jar is mostly filler.
- Shrimp paste. A sign of an authentic recipe, though it rules the paste out for vegetarians.
- Galangal, not ginger. Galangal is sharper and more medicinal, and it is what makes a Thai curry taste Thai.
- Kaffir lime leaf or peel. Present in the better pastes, missing from the cheap ones.
- A tub or a tin, not a slim jar. The concentrated pastes usually come in tubs and last months in the fridge.
Thai brands or supermarket brands?
Thai brands are stronger, cheaper by weight and taste closer to the real thing. Supermarket pastes are milder and sweeter, aimed at a British palate, and often need a whole jar where a Thai paste needs two tablespoons. The trade off is that Thai pastes come in larger tubs, so you need to use them or freeze them.
Mae Ploy and Maesri are the two to look for in Asian grocers and online. Thai Taste sits in the middle and turns up in larger supermarkets. Blue Dragon and own brand pastes are the mildest of the lot.
Vegetarian and vegan options
Most traditional Thai pastes contain shrimp paste and sometimes fish sauce. Vegan versions exist and say so on the front, usually replacing the shrimp with fermented soybean or extra salt. They are a little flatter, so lift them with a spoon of light soy sauce and a squeeze of lime.
How to use it properly
Fry the paste before any liquid goes near it. Spoon the thick cream off the top of a tin of coconut milk, heat it until the oil separates, then cook the paste in that fat for a minute or two until it smells strong. Skipping this step is why home curries taste raw and thin.
- Start with 1 to 2 tbsp of a Thai brand paste for four people, then taste.
- Fry until fragrant and the oil splits out, about two minutes.
- Add the rest of the coconut milk and simmer, do not boil.
- Finish with fish sauce for salt, palm sugar for balance and lime for lift.
- Freeze leftover paste in an ice cube tray, one tablespoon per cube.
Frequently asked questions
Is green curry paste hotter than red?
Usually yes. Green paste uses fresh green bird eye chillies, which carry more heat than the dried red chillies in a red paste. Red tastes deeper and smokier but is generally milder.
How long does curry paste keep once opened?
Several months in a sealed tub in the fridge, because the salt and chilli preserve it. Smooth the surface flat and add a thin film of oil on top to keep air off. It also freezes well.
Can I use Thai curry paste for an Indian curry?
Not sensibly. Thai pastes are built on lemongrass, galangal and lime leaf, which taste nothing like the cumin, coriander and garam masala base of an Indian curry. The result is neither one thing nor the other.
Why is my curry not as good as the restaurant version?
Usually the paste was stirred into liquid rather than fried in fat first, or the coconut milk was low in fat. Fry the paste in coconut cream until the oil separates, and buy a full fat tin.
Where to buy
Options on Amazon UK that match what is described above. These are affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission if you buy through them. Stock and prices change, so check the listing before ordering.
- Mae Ploy curry pastes. Red, green, yellow, massaman and panang, in the large tubs. The strong, chilli led kind.
- Maesri curry paste tins. Small tins, one curry each. Good if you do not want a big tub open in the fridge.
