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Tracing the Spicy History of Thai Green Curry
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This feature was produced in collaboration between Vox Creative and Campbell's. Vox Media editorial staff was not involved in the creation or production of this content.
Great eating means great recipes. Together with Campbell's Sauces, we present "The Source," where we look back at the origins of some classic preparations, from around the country and around the world.
Thai green curry might be the signature dish of Thai cuisine. It’s spicy, sweet, aromatic, and packs a punch. In this episode of "The Source," we head to Bangkok to see how Thai green curry is made by locals — and how its recipe has been passed down from generation to generation.
Plus, here are five things you didn’t know about Thai green curry.
Curry is universal in southeast Asia. It’s generally agreed that curry was first made by Indians, using ginger, turmeric, and garlic. The first evidence of it was recently discovered there, dating back to around 2500 B.C., and the word "curry" is an Anglicized version of the Tamil word "kari." As settlers and traders came to India from as far as Japan, China, Portugal, and France, they disseminated recipes for curry throughout southeast Asia, including Thailand.
The word "curry" in Thai is gaeng (also written as kang, gang, or geng). In English, it means "any wet savory dish enriched and thickened with paste." Thailand has several varieties of curries, much like other southeastern Asian countries. The most popular curries eaten in Thailand are green, red, yellow, panang, and massaman. Nearly all Thai curry pastes use the same base of local spices and ingredients — shrimp paste (kapi or gapi), garlic, shallots, lemongrass, peppercorns, kaffir limes, and cumin seeds — but are distinguished by the chiles added and their color.
The kapi, shrimp paste, is essential to a Thai curry, thanks to its bold umami flavor. It’s made from tiny shrimp (or krill) that have been salted and left to dry in the sun and ferment. The use of kapi dates back to the eighth century; because it could be preserved and used for months without refrigeration, it was an ideal ingredient in a time when fresh food went bad quickly.
The cultivation of chiles in Thailand began with Christopher Columbus, who first discovered chiles in the Caribbean and South America and brought them back to Western Europe. Chile peppers quickly became the choice spice in Europe, as the black pepper traditionally used to spice up food had become an expensive luxury item. Portuguese traders then brought chiles with them to their colonies in Asia. Portugal’s presence in Thailand was brief, but the chile pepper stayed.
Coconut milk is a key ingredient in most Thai curries, but some are made with water. The most common water-based curry in Thailand is the sour curry (called gaeng som), made with lots of seafood and shrimp paste to flavor the broth. Coconut milk replaced the ghee (clarified butter) traditionally used in Indian curries. It’s essential for green curry: the coconut milk’s sweetness helps cut the heat from the chiles and adds balance.
This feature was produced in collaboration between Vox Creative and Campbell's. Vox Media editorial staff was not involved in the creation or production of this content.