Thai Curry Guide: Red, Green, Yellow & Massaman Explained

Walk into any Thai restaurant and you'll see four or five curries. They look similar but they're built from different curry pastes.

Green Curry (Gaeng Keow Wan)

The spiciest classic — fresh green chilies, Thai basil, kaffir lime. Bright, herbaceous, fiery.

Red Curry (Gaeng Phed)

Built from dried red chilies — earthier, deeper, slightly sweeter than green. Pairs with chicken or duck.

Yellow Curry (Gaeng Karee)

Mild, golden, with turmeric and curry powder. A gateway curry.

Panang Curry

Thicker, creamier, slightly sweet with crushed peanuts and kaffir lime. Less soupy than red curry.

Massaman Curry

Muslim-Thai roots — cinnamon, cardamom, potatoes, peanuts. CNN once named it one of the world's best dishes.

Which curry should you order?

Match the curry to your mood and your protein. Seafood and duck shine in red curry, where the dried-chili depth stands up to rich meat. Green curry loves chicken and vegetables — its fresh-herb brightness keeps them lively. Panang is the move for salmon or beef when you want something thick and luxurious over rice. Massaman is the comfort pick: mild, warming, and kid-approved, with potatoes that make it a full meal. Yellow curry sits between them — gentle heat, golden color, and the most familiar flavor to anyone raised on Japanese or Indian curries.

One bowl, four flavor families

What makes Thai curry different from Indian or Japanese curry is the paste: a fresh pound-together of chilies, lemongrass, galangal, shallots, garlic, shrimp paste, and spices. Indian curries lean on dried spice blends bloomed in oil; Thai curries lean on fresh aromatics pounded to release their oils. That's why a good Thai curry smells like a garden before it tastes like a spice rack — and why a kitchen that pounds its own paste smells incredible the moment you walk in.

Try our Roasted Duck Red Curry — call 781-936-5142.