Red or Green Thai Curry paste?

Red or Green Thai Curry paste
Curry pastes are made up of chillies, onions, garlic and lemon grass and a good mix of herbs.

Red or Green Thai Curry paste? Find out more about what makes them unique!

Whether to choose red or green Thai curry, is a topic of some confusion. Which one should you cook? Do you know the difference between the two variants of the popular Thai curry? Here’s how you can decide which one is more appropriate for you taste.

Red or Green Thai Curry paste
Bird's Eye Chili rippening

Green vs Red color

The one main difference between red curry vs green curry is the colour as a result of the varied contents that go inside the curries!

The biggest difference is that the red curry uses dry red chillies as a base for its paste, whereas green curry paste requires fresh green chillies.

Green Curry, the most famous of Thailand's curries

Green Curry

If you can handle the heat, then go for a Thai green curry. With incredibly aromatic ingredients like fresh green chillies, coriander, kaffir lime and Thai basil, you know you're going to get a delicious Thai dish no matter what.

Although the coconut milk tones down the spice, you've been warned that green curries are usually the spiciest.

Red or Green Thai Curry paste
Red curry paste, a versatile and flavorful base

Red Curry

Thai red curries are usually less spicy than green ones.

It’s the red chillies in the paste that lend their colour to this curry. The fiery heat from the chillies are toned down by the coconut milk, but you could even scrape out the seeds and inner white flesh from your chillies to create a milder paste.

Red curry paste is made with dried red spur chilies.

Spiciness

Another huge difference is the amount of hotness one can expect to encounter when eating red curry and green curry. Without a shred of doubt, green curry is quite spicy and hot. So, if you are comparing red curry vs green curry in terms of spice levels, green curry is the one to keep an eye out for.

Generally speaking, red curry varies in terms of spice levels but is considered as a spicy curry. It can have subtle elements of heat here and there.

Preparation

With both green and red curry pastes, coconut milk is often stirred in to form a creamy curry base.
Nevertheless red curry paste is the most versatile and is added to a wide variety of different dishes, marinades and stir fries.