How to make curry sauce

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

How to make a curry sauce that sings of exotic spices and Asian flavors

Curry sauce is a huge component of many Asian cuisines including Thai, Indian and Japanese food. You may also know it from dipping English chips in it. If you ever feel a cold coming on, a bowl of it soothes the system and helps knock out the sniffles.

Neighborhoods in major cities are named after it, and number of restaurants along London?s Brick Lane simple refer to themselves as curry houses. It?s the dish people will travel out of their way to get because it?s one many of us don?t know how to make at home.

Learning how to make curry sauce is not hard, but you will probably need to go spice shopping first. While you can find many of the seasonings at the grocery store, it?s way more affordable to go to a a bulk food shop or an Asian grocery store and buy each spice individually.

Before you continue reading about the How to make curry sauce there is a special announcement we would like to share with you. Catalogs.com has negotiated special medicare rates for our vibrant community of seniors. If you are over the age of 60, you can head over to our Seniors Health Section which is full of information about medicare. All you need is your zip code and a few minutes of your time to potentially save 100s of dollars on your medicare bills.

Get Free Catalogs When You Sign Up

Don't wait, sign up and get Free Shipping Offers, Discount Codes and lots of Savings Now!

Alternatively, you can buy a powder. Many groceries carry at least one. These all taste a little different depending on the proportion of each spice. Try not to buy any large amounts until you find a mix you know you like.

Powder is typically a blend of turmeric, ground cloves, chilies and coriander seeds, and some have additional spices like ginger. The most basic method of making a sauce is with the pre-blended bright yellow spice blend.

While powder works sufficiently if you?re making an Indian dish for the first time, if you?re making Thai food, paste is generally used instead and the spice blend has lemon grass and a few other ingredients.

How to make curry sauce:

For a simple dipping sauce for chips, add a few teaspoons of powder to a sauce pan. Start with 1 part powder and 2 parts water on medium heat and stir. Heat until it boils, the reduce heat to low for about 5 minutes. Taste and add more hot water to thin it out if needed.

Say you want to try a curried sauce for boneless chicken breast to serve with rice. This is going to make your house smell really good: saut? chopped onions with fresh ginger paste, fresh garlic, olive oil, a few cloves, salt and pepper. Add a shake of turmeric and ground coriander seeds. Heat until the onions turn translucent. Add water, bring the sauce to a boil and then simmer.

Variations of a basic chicken or tofu dishes include adding chopped tomatoes for color and a sour element. You can marinade the protein in plain yogurt before cooking it in the sauce or spoon in yogurt during the simmer. Top the dish with fresh cilantro. South Indian curries often use coconut milk as a base instead of water. Squeeze lime juice on top and you?ll be amazed how light and fresh your dish will taste.

Chilies bring the spicy element, but chili powder will do if you don?t have any. If your chilies are super hot, keep the pieces you add in large slices so they?ll be easy to pick out.

Thai restaurants generally offer a red, green and yellow sauce. You can find red, green and yellow curry pastes in grocery and gourmet food stores, or you can make your own paste.

With Thai, the sauce forms as you cook the protein and vegetables down. Use a large skillet and heat the protein, potatoes and other large pieces in oil for a few minutes to brown. Stir in the paste with onions, peppers and the other veggies and cook for 5 minutes. Pour in coconut milk to dissolve the paste and bring it all to a boil. Mix in fresh cilantro and simmer for a few minutes.

Sauce can also be added to a rice stir fry for curry rice while the rice is still cooking so it absorbs the flavors. Top with crushed peanuts, bean sprouts and lime juice.

There?s no single way for how to make curry sauce. If you?re not happy with the first experiment, try a completely different method. Like any new recipe, making it your own is a process of trial and error, but once you get it right you?ll have a whole new style of healthy cooking in your repertoire.

References:

Epicurious: Thai Paste

Jamie Oliver: Indian Paste