Panang Curry Paste (Prik Gaeng Panang)

Panang curry paste is a Thai curry paste characterized by a vibrant red color, nutty flavor, and rich texture. It is prepared with lots of herbs, spices, and aromatics, namely Thai spur chillis, cumin, coriander, white peppercorns, lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime leaves, cilantro roots, garlic, shallots, shrimp paste, roasted peanuts, and salt.

The preparation starts with deseeding and soaking the chilies and roasting the cumin and coriander. The cumin, coriander, and peppercorns are finely ground in a mortar and pestle, and then the other so-called "wet" ingredients are added to the dry ones and mortar and pestled until a paste is formed.

Compared to the similar Thai red chili paste, panang curry paste is less red as it has less chilis and is richer. It is used in the preparation of Panang Thai curry, and commercially produced ones will typically have mung beans instead of peanuts, as many people are allergic to peanuts.