Food: The Best of London’s Thailand Cuisine

Brits are curry mad but we don’t tend to know much beyond our favourite takeaway dishes. There’s a whole world of curry out there – from Pakistan to Mexico – and we’re here to help you discover it. This week we’re taking a trip to Thailand.

An Introduction

Thai curry is usually more soupy than its northern cousins as it contains either coconut milk or water. Coconut bases are the best known in the west and are the most popular in Thailand too.

The coconut fat makes the curry milder whereas water-based curries tend to be more sour and far spicier. They’re not for the faint-hearted.

A curry’s greatness lays in its base and Thai curries favour a paste over a gravy. They also cook for a shorter time than Indian ones and use more fresh herbs and a lot more garlic. There are also a whole host of regional variations so Thailand’s curry is fabulously plentiful.

Green, Red and Yellow

Thai Curry is so synonymous with colour that it’s unusual to hear it without one. Thai green curry, Thai red curry and even Thai yellow curry are well-known and well-loved dishes in Britain but what’s the difference between them?

Each curry has a different paste to match its colour. Garlic, shallots, lemongrass, coriander, shrimp paste and salt are the base ingredients for all these curries.

Green curry paste is the only one that uses fresh chillies instead of dried. These green chillies are added to the base with white pepper, kaffir lime and sweet basil leaves.

Many diners assume that green curry is the hottest but it entirely depends on who’s cooking it and what chillies are used. The flavour is usually stronger but not necessarily spicier.

Yellow curries are more mellow in flavour and are made by adding turmeric, curry powder, dried red chillies, cumin, galangal and ginger to the base.

Red curry is the most versatile of the lot and involves adding dried long red chillies, cumin, kaffir lime, white pepper and galangal to the base.

You can vary the flavour enormously just by tweaking a few ingredients – the best way to see how is by trying some yourself. Champor-Champor at London Bridge offers yellow curries with spicy young banana or king river prawns that are to die for.

Sukho is the place for Thai green curry. The beef is beautiful but if you want to treat yourself try the lobster tail – you won’t be disappointed.

Rosa’s in Soho does several takes on red curry – try the spicy battered salmon or the brilliant butternut squash red curry. If you fancy a twist there’s also a red curry paste stir fry.

 

 

Massaman

Massaman is a rich and mild curry that originated in Persia and is unlike other Thai curries. The traditional base is mixed with cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, anise, bay leaves, nutmeg and mace, which aren’t found anywhere else in the cuisine.

The unique paste is fried with coconut, peanuts, tamarind, fish sauce, meat and potato. The result is Thailand’s sweetest and mildest curry with an explosion of flavours stretching from northern Asia to the south. It’s the ultimate fusion and is so good that it has been ranked among the best foods in the world by CNN.

Find this phenomenal fusion curry with beef at Isarn in Islington or try the Heron Bar in Paddington which, despite being a pub, serves up some of London’s most authentic Thai.

Jungle Curry

As the name suggests this dish (left) comes from the jungle and it’s water-based curries as coconuts don’t grow in the forest. Jungle curry – or Kaeng pa in Thai – is a very spicy, low-fat curry made with pea eggplant (a kind of berry), green peppercorns and of course chilli.

The dish used to be made from wild boar but you’re more likely to get pork or chicken in London.

Esarn Kheaw in Shepherds Bush serves jungle curry with minced beef, pork, chicken or prawns while Highbury’s Farang does an outstanding version with salmon and Cornish monkfish.

Panang

There are as many ways of spelling this dish as there are curries in the world. You can throw in an extra e, an h or both but the result is the same: a delicious red curry with a salty, sweet nutty taste.

Panang is from the south and is one of the drier Thai curries as only the thick part of the coconut milk is used.

Peanuts are the absolute shining star of this dish – if you’re a satay fan then definitely give panang a try. The Little Thai in Belsize Park does a delicious penang with veggie or tofu options to boot and it delivers if you’re feeling lazy. The Pepper Tree in Clapham does a classic version with beef and an extra e for luck.

Honourable Mentions

Kaeng Hang Le (left) comes from Myanmar and made its way to northern Thailand. This curry’s quirk is in the clear Chinese influence;  pork belly, pineapple and soy sauce are added to the Thai curry paste. Test out this sumptuously sweet and sour dish at Mantanah, under “Hungley”.

Kaeng som is a central Thai curry that’s made sour with tamarind and spicy because of the water base. Kaeng som is a mouthwatering medium for showcasing incredible Thai produce you’ve never heard of such as moringa, green papaya and the flowers of the hummingbird tree. The Begging Bowl’s “geng som” boasts wild turbot, wax gourd, morning glory and pea shoots.

 

by Jo Davey

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