Best Thai Curries Ranked: From Green to Massaman

Thai curries are made with fresh curry paste — a blend of chillies, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime, garlic, shallots, and shrimp paste (or tofu for vegan versions) — cooked with coconut milk, protein, and vegetables to produce dishes of extraordinary complexity and fragrance. The main categories are green (gaeng khiao wan), red (gaeng daeng), yellow (gaeng luang), massaman, panang, and jungle curry (gaeng pa) — each with distinct flavour profiles, heat levels, and regional affiliations. The colour categories refer to the chillies used in the paste, not the finished dish.

Green curry (gaeng khiao wan) is made with fresh green chillies, making it the hottest of the main curries — the sweetness of coconut milk and Thai basil provide counterpoint to intense heat. It typically uses chicken, beef, or pork with Thai eggplant, bamboo shoots, and kaffir lime leaves. Red curry (gaeng daeng) uses dried red chillies for a deeper, more complex flavour that is less immediately fiery than green; it is highly versatile and pairs well with duck (gaeng phet ped yang — red curry with roast duck — is a classic). Massaman curry is Thai curry's greatest achievement in richness — the paste incorporates imported spices (cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg) reflecting centuries of Persian and Indian trade influence. It is slow-cooked with beef or lamb, potatoes, onions, and roasted peanuts; CNN once named it the world's most delicious food. Panang curry is thicker and richer than red curry, with the addition of ground peanuts and a sweeter flavour; excellent with beef. Jungle curry (gaeng pa) uses no coconut milk — a fiery, herbal, broth-based curry using wild vegetables and game meat, originating in northern Thailand where coconut palms do not grow. Yellow curry (gaeng luang) uses turmeric and is milder, influenced by Indian and Malay cooking in the south. For a first Thai curry, green or massaman are the most accessible and most universally loved.