Fresh Thai Curry: Handle With (Mouth-Watering) Care
I like the spice. Interpret that how you will; but in this case, I’m talking about Thai curries. I’m a fan of the green, not the hottest, often rich and balanced so you can taste the ingredients (usually lemongrass, galanga, roasted coriander seeds, and more) as well as the chilis.
At home, I often try to use the varieties you can buy in most Asian markets, here and in the States. They’re similar to each other, coming in big plastic tubs, in red, green or yellow. The Mae Ploy brand I have here (made by the “Thep Padung Porn Coconut Company” – quite obviously serving curry fetishists around the world) is like most: very spicy, good flavor, but a little too sharp to use as is. Obviously I use coconut milk, but it also benefits from a little fish sauce and sometimes a little sugar to balance the taste.
But perhaps no longer. While browsing with friends at a Thai market and back-room cafeteria in Charlottenburg, I stumbled on a little plastic container of obviously fresh green curry. No label, no ingredients, just a green glob of paste in a plastic dish. Just the way it should be.
I bought a batch and brought it home, and tonight tried it out with some chicken, eggplant, onions and carrots. I used about about two tablespoonfuls of curry, along with nearly an entire small box of coconut milk. After letting it simmer, I tasted it, and found it balanced and rich, with no need of the usual doctoring.
Spicy? Oh yeah. But not painfully so, the way the commercial brands can be. Enough to give you that warm feeling inside that German food will simply never provide. There’s a red available too, which can be considerably spicier. Next time I’ve got a serious cold, or some winter blues that I need to sweat away, I’ll head back for that one.
The curry, along with a very good assortment of fresh Asian vegetables and other products, can be found at Thai-Viet Markt, upstairs at Wilmersdorfer Str. 60-61, just a few steps north of Kant Str.
Thanks to Kean for snapping the picture of the market, and for the recommendation.
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December 1st, 2007 at 11:06 am
I stumbled on that place after going to Rogacki. A very interesting-looking little Imbiss in the back, too.
December 1st, 2007 at 5:03 pm
True about the Imbiss — we were actually there to eat, rather than to shop. But the previous owner, a bona fide Thai grandmother, has gone back to Thailand, and according to Kean (our guide up the back stairs), the quality has tumbled somewhat as a result. My curry was quite nice, but the Pad Thai noodles were a little on the soggy side. Still tasty, but no longer what it once was.