What is yellow curry?
Gaeng means curry or soup in Thai, and kari comes from the English word curry. The yellow paste contains more dried spices than the red or green one, plus curry powder and turmeric. That is why gaeng kari reminds people of Indian curries and tastes rounder and milder than other Thai curries.
For comparison: red curry is hotter, and green curry tastes fresh of green chilies and Thai basil. Massaman curry also has potatoes but gets cinnamon, cardamom and peanuts.
Buying or making yellow curry paste
You can buy yellow curry paste at an Asian grocery store in a tub or a can. Store-bought paste is salty, so season the curry with fish sauce only at the end.
For your own paste, dry-roast 1 tsp each of coriander seeds and cumin in a pan and grind them. Soak 6 dried red chilies in warm water for 15 minutes. Then blend or pound the chilies with 4 shallots, 5 garlic cloves, 1 stalk of lemongrass, 2 cm of galangal, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp curry powder, 1 tsp shrimp paste and ½ tsp salt into a smooth paste. The amount is enough for two curries. In a screw-top jar it keeps for a week in the fridge, frozen for 3 months. The method with mortar and blender is also shown in the recipe for red curry paste.
How to make yellow curry
Fry the paste
Do not shake the can of coconut milk. Thick coconut cream settles on top, and you can fry the paste in it instead of in oil. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat, until the paste is fragrant and oil seeps out at the edge. If it stays in the pan too briefly, the curry tastes raw and dusty with spices.
Potatoes and meat
Use waxy potatoes and cut them into 2 cm cubes. Floury ones fall apart in 25 minutes and make the sauce mushy. Chicken breast turns dry at this cooking time. Use boneless chicken thighs, or add the breast to the potatoes only after 10 minutes. Shrimp need 3 minutes.
Seasoning
Let the curry simmer gently, not bubble, or the coconut milk will split. Taste at the end: fish sauce adds salt, palm sugar adds sweetness. If it lacks freshness, a squeeze of lime helps.
Variations
- Vegetarian: Use tofu, pumpkin or sweet potato instead of chicken and replace the fish sauce with light soy sauce. With store-bought paste, check whether it contains shrimp paste.
- Beef: Beef stew meat braises in the coconut milk for 1.5 hours, and the potatoes go in only for the last 25 minutes.
What to serve with it
Yellow curry goes with jasmine rice. In Thailand, ajad often sits next to it, a salad of cucumber, shallot and chili in a sweet-and-sour vinegar brine that balances the coconut milk. Instead of rice, you can mop up the curry with roti canai. If you like the taste of curry powder, cook khao pad pong kari next.
