Authentic Thai Panang Curry
Author: Pailin Chongchitnant Prep Time: 20 mins
If making curry paste: 20 mins Cook Time: 5 mins Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 2 servings
Description
Authentic recipe for Thai panang curry, just like you'd have it in Thailand! This recipe uses pork, which
is the most common type of panang curry in Thailand, but you can substitute chicken if you wish. If
you want to use beef, see my recipe for panang beef which gives some extra tips for making sure your
beef is tender.
Ingredients
4 Tbsp (60 ml) panang curry paste, store bought use one of the recipes below (see note 1)
10.5 oz (300 g) pork tenderloin or collar but, thinly sliced against the grain (see note 2)
1½ tsp (7.5 ml) fish sauce
2 tsp (10 ml) neutral oil
1 ¼ cups (300 ml) coconut milk, plus a little extra for garnish if you wish
10 makrut lime leaves, 7 roughly torn into chucks, 3 finely julienned for garnish
1½ Tbsp (18 g) palm sugar, finely chopped, packed
1/8 red bell pepper, julienned for garnish, optional
Jasmine rice for serving
Option 1: Homemade Panang Curry Paste
10 g dried mild chilies, such as guajillo or puya peppers.
½ tsp coarse salt
¾ tsp cumin seeds
1½ tsp coriander seeds
¼ tsp white peppercorns
3 Tbsp chopped lemongrass, from bottom half only
1 Tbsp chopped galangal
1 ½ tsp makrut lime zest (aka ka$ir lime)
2 cilantro roots or 6 cilantro stems, chopped
3 Tbsp chopped garlic
¼ cup chopped shallots
1 tsp fermented shrimp paste (gapi)
2 Tbsp roasted peanuts (if allergic, sub another type of nuts or seeds)
Option 2: Semi-Homemade Panang Curry Paste
4 tablespoon red curry paste
¾ tsp cumin seeds
1 ½ tsp coriander seeds
2 Tbsp roasted peanuts (if allergic, sub another type of nuts or seeds)
1 tsp fermented shrimp paste (optional, only if the red curry paste doesn’t already have it)
Kitchen Tools & Ingredients I Use
Instructions
For the Curry:
1 Add 1½ teaspoon fish sauce and oil to the pork and massage it in with your hands, separating the
pieces that are stuck together as you mix.
2 In a saute pan or a wok over medium high heat, reduce ¾ cup coconut milk until thickened and
creamy. Stir in curry paste and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook the paste for a few minutes,
stirring constantly, until coconut oil separates away from the paste. If the paste sticks to the pan,
you can deglaze with a bit of the remaining coconut milk.
3 Add palm sugar and torn makrut lime leaves and cook for a minute or so until the sugar is
dissolved.
4 Add the pork and quickly toss it with the curry paste, separating the pieces as much as you can.
Once the pork is about 50% cooked, add the remaining coconut milk and stir for just one more
minute, just until the pork is mostly cooked through, then turn o$ the heat. *Do not overcook the
pork or it will become chewy; it will continue to cook in the residual heat even a%er you turn o$ the
heat. If it looks too dry, you can add a splash of water at this point.
5 Stir in red peppers, if using. Taste and adjust seasoning with more fish sauce as needed. The
amount of fish sauce you need greatly depends on how salty your curry paste is, which varies
between brands.
6 Plate, and if you have extra coconut milk handy, it's traditional to garnish panang curry with a little
drizzle of coconut milk on top, but don't worry if you don't have any extra. Top with julienned
makrut lime leaves and more red peppers as desired.
7 Serve with jasmine rice, enjoy!
For the Homemade Panang Curry Paste:
*This method requires the use of a large granite mortar and pestle. You can also use an immersion
blender if you have one, but you'll need to double the recipe to make it grind properly. See my red
curry paste recipe for how to use an immersion blender to make curry paste.
1 In a dry skillet toast the cumin seeds over medium heat until they darken slightly and are aromatic
and start to pop, 2-3 minutes; remove from the pan. Repeat with the coriander seeds.
2 Add the coriander and cumin seeds into a co$ee/spice grinder. Then cut the chilies into chunks
and pour out the seeds, and add them to the grinder also. Grinde everything into a powder. Add
the roasted peanuts and grind just until mostly fine.
3 In a large mortar and pestle, add lemongrass, galangal, ka$ir lime zest, cilantro roots/stems and
salt and pound into a fine paste. Add the shallots and garlic and pound into a fine paste, adding
the dry spices once the shallots and garlic start to become wet to help absorb liquid.
4 Pound everything into a fine paste, then add the shrimp paste and pound to mix.
For the Semi-Homemade Panang Curry Paste:
1 In a dry skillet toast the cumin seeds over medium heat until they darken slightly and are aromatic
and start to pop, 2-3 minutes; remove from the pan. Repeat with the coriander seeds.
2 Grind the cumin and coriander seeds until very fine using a mortar and pestle or a co$ee grinder.
3 Add the roasted peanuts and grind until fine.
4 Mix ground spices into the red curry paste and shrimp paste, if using a mortar and pestle, simply
add the paste into the mortar and pound to mix.
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Notes
If you are using store bought curry paste, add 2 tablespoons of ground roasted peanuts because
1
most store bought pastes leave out peanuts.
If you want to substitute chicken, I recommend boneless skinless chicken thigh, sliced into ½-inch
2
thick pieces. If you want to use beef, see my panang beef recipe for some tips on making sure the
beef is tender.
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