Thai curries compared: green, red, panang, massaman, jungle and sour curry

Most Thai curries you will meet fall into two groups. Coconut curries, such as green, red, panang and massaman, are rich and fragrant and mostly milder. Coconut-free curries, such as jungle curry and sour curry, have a thin, clear broth, bold flavours and more heat. What sets each one apart is the curry paste (พริกแกง, prik gaeng), pounded from chilies, herbs and shrimp paste in different proportions.

This article compares six curries you will see most often: whether they have coconut milk, how hot they run, and what stands out in each paste.

The basic curry paste

Nearly every paste starts from the same base: chilies, shallots, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, coriander root and shrimp paste (กะปิ, kapi), pounded together in a mortar. Each curry then adds its own touch; some add dried spices such as cumin, coriander seed, pepper or turmeric.

Because the base contains shrimp paste, a standard Thai curry is not vegetarian, and people allergic to shellfish need to take care.

Six curries in one table

Curry	Coconut	Heat (roughly)	Stands out for
Green: แกงเขียวหวาน, kaeng khiao wan	Yes	Medium to high	Fresh green chilies, Thai basil, Thai eggplant
Red: แกงเผ็ด, kaeng phet	Yes	Medium	Dried red chilies, a pourable sauce
Panang: พะแนง, phanaeng	Lots, thick	Low to medium	Almost dry, shredded lime leaves
Massaman: มัสมั่น, matsaman	Yes	Low	Warm spices (cardamom, cinnamon, cloves), peanuts, potato
Jungle: แกงป่า, kaeng pa	No	High	Clear broth, lots of herbs, green peppercorns, pea eggplant
Sour (central): แกงส้ม, kaeng som	No	Medium to high	Tamarind sourness, fish or prawns, vegetables

The heat column is a tendency, not a rule. Heat depends on how much chili each kitchen uses, and the same curry can taste very different from one place to the next.

The four coconut curries

Green curry (kaeng khiao wan) comes from central Thailand. The colour comes from fresh green bird’s eye chilies, and wan (“sweet”) refers to the soft shade of green, not the taste. It has Thai eggplant, pea eggplant and Thai basil, and is eaten with rice or with fresh rice noodles (ขนมจีน, khanom jin). It is generally hotter than red curry.

Red curry is called kaeng phet, “spicy curry”, in Thai. The paste is built on dried red chilies, fried in oil before coconut milk goes in, and the sauce is loose enough to spoon like soup. Bamboo shoots, eggplant and Thai basil are common.

Panang (phanaeng) is made by frying the paste in thick coconut cream until the oil separates, leaving very little sauce. It is milder and richer than red curry, with more coconut and fewer chilies, and is finished with finely shredded makrut lime leaves. The traditional paste has no peanuts, but many modern recipes add ground roasted peanuts.

Massaman (matsaman) gets its name from a word meaning “Muslim”. Its paste has the most dried spices of any Thai curry: cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cumin and nutmeg. Potatoes, onion, peanuts and tamarind go in, and it tastes mild, slightly sweet and sour. Chicken or beef are usual; pork is rare because of the dish’s Muslim roots.

The two coconut-free curries

Jungle curry (kaeng pa) comes from forested areas, particularly the north, where coconuts do not grow naturally, so it has no coconut milk. The broth is thin and very hot, fragrant with lime leaves, lemongrass, galangal, green peppercorns and pea eggplant. It was once made with wild boar; pork or chicken are usual now.

Sour curry (kaeng som): som means sour, not orange. The paste is simple, just chilies, shallots and shrimp paste. Tamarind makes it sour and palm sugar balances it. It uses fish that hold together when boiled, such as snakehead, or prawns, with vegetables like green papaya, sesbania flowers, morning glory or a cha-om (acacia leaf) omelette.

Southern sour curry is what the rest of Thailand calls kaeng lueang (แกงเหลือง, “yellow curry”). Turmeric turns it yellow, and tamarind, som khaek (a sour dried fruit) and lime make it sour. It is very hot, sour and salty, far hotter than the central version.

Coconut curries are mostly milder than the clear ones, so newcomers to chili heat usually find massaman or panang easier than jungle curry.

Worked example: choosing curries for a table of three

Three friends: one loves strong heat, one handles a little, one is allergic to peanuts. You want two curries to share with steamed rice.

1. Start with six. Drop massaman, which normally has peanuts. Panang needs a question, because some kitchens grind peanuts into the paste; drop it to be safe. Four left.
2. Pick one coconut curry for the mild eater, green or red: “Kaeng phet gai, phet noi” (red curry with chicken, less hot).
3. Pick one clear curry for the heat lover, jungle or sour: “Kaeng som cha-om goong, phet pakati” (sour curry with acacia omelette and prawns, normal heat).
4. Mention the allergy once: “One of us is allergic to peanuts (phae thua lisong). Please tell us if any dish or curry paste has peanuts.”

Two curries, one coconut and one clear, cut from six to four to two. Everyone has something they can eat, and the peanut question covers both the dish and the paste. For hidden shrimp paste and peanuts, see eating Thai food with a food allergy.

Common mistakes

• Expecting green curry to be sweet. The name is about the colour; it is often hotter than red.
• Expecting sour curry to be orange or contain oranges. Som means sour; the taste comes from tamarind.
• Assuming every curry has coconut. Jungle curry and sour curry do not; they are the choice if you avoid coconut.
• Ordering a “vegetarian” curry from the regular menu. Standard paste contains shrimp paste. Ask for a jay (vegetarian) paste specifically.
• Sipping jungle curry like soup. It is very hot. Spooning it over rice helps a lot.

Summary

Two questions sort these six curries: does it have coconut, and how hot is it? Green, red, panang and massaman use coconut; jungle and sour curry are clear and hotter. Nearly every paste contains shrimp paste, and massaman has peanuts, so tell the kitchen about any allergy. Next in this series: the four condiments on the table that let you adjust all of these dishes yourself.

Sources

• Thai curry — Wikipedia
• Green curry — Wikipedia
• Red curry — Wikipedia
• Phanaeng curry — Wikipedia
• Massaman curry — Wikipedia
• Kaeng som — Wikipedia