Curry Paste Recommendations

July 1, 2018 7:53 AM

My local Thai restaurant makes a mean Panang curry, but when I try to make it at home - using Mae Ploy Panang curry paste - it's way off base. I have no idea if it's me or the paste, but either way, please let me know your recommendations for good curry pastes - from any Asian region!
posted by 7 Minutes of Madness to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

Seconding Maesri brand. The other ones I've tried have been pretty bad, but Maesri is better than I can make at home.
posted by Quietgal at 8:00 AM on July 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

I’ve used a couple from Thai and True and been happy. Looks like they mail order in addition to selling locally.
posted by OneSmartMonkey at 8:05 AM on July 1, 2018

Thirding Maesri. If you have the time, inclination, and large mortar and pestle, making your own can be amazing.
posted by Candleman at 8:20 AM on July 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

From Hot Thai Kitchen, my favorite Thai recipe source (who's in Canada, so is working with generally-available supplies in North America), Penang Curry Paste and then Penang Curry.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:51 AM on July 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

Maesri is quite good. Mae Ploy is so-so, but shouldn't be BAD.
In addition to the paste, pay attention to adjusting the amounts of palm sugar and fish sauce (make sure it's a Thai brand--other Asian fish sauces can be very different).
posted by mkuhnell at 11:55 AM on July 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

One general guideline is that I look for no-sugar curry pastes; most shelf brands tend to over-sweeten or use it as a stabilizer, relative to made-from-scratch ones.
posted by ahundredjarsofsky at 3:04 AM on July 2, 2018 [1 favorite]

Pataks
posted by Enid Lareg at 10:50 PM on July 2, 2018