• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • ABOUT
    • All About Grantourismo
    • Work With Us
    • Meet Lara and Terence
    • Itineraries, Tours & Retreats
    • Media Coverage
    • Contacts
  • SLOW
  • LOCAL
  • EXPERIENTIAL
  • RECIPES
Grantourismo Travels Homepage

Grantourismo Travels

The website of globetrotting professional travel writing and photography team Lara Dunston and Terence Carter

Grantourismo Travels Homepage
  • AFRICA
        • KENYA
          • Masai Mara
          • Mombasa
          • Tsavo West
        • MOROCCO
          • Essaouira
          • Marrakech
        • SOUTH AFRICA
          • Cape Town
  • ASIA
        • CAMBODIA
          • Battambang
          • Phnom Penh
          • Siem Reap
        • INDONESIA
          • Bali
        • JAPAN
          • Tokyo
        • LAOS
          • Luang Prabang
        • MALAYSIA
          • Borneo
          • Kuala Lumpur
          • Penang
        • MEKONG RIVER
        • SINGAPORE
        • MYANMAR
        • THAILAND
          • Bangkok
          • Chiang Mai
          • Isaan
          • Phuket
        • VIETNAM
          • Dalat
          • Hanoi
          • Hoi An
          • Saigon
          • Sapa
  • AMERICAS
        • ARGENTINA
          • Buenos Aires
        • BRAZIL
          • Rio de Janeiro
        • COSTA RICA
          • Manuel Antonio
        • MEXICO
          • Mexico City
          • San Miguel de Allende
        • UNITED STATES
          • Austin
          • New York City
  • AUSTRALASIA
        • AUSTRALIA
          • Adelaide
          • Darwin
          • Gold Coast
          • Melbourne
          • Perth
          • Sydney
  • EUROPE
        • AUSTRIA
          • Vienna
          • Zell Am See
        • ENGLAND
          • London
        • FRANCE
          • Céret
          • Paris
          • Perpignan
        • GERMANY
          • Berlin
        • HUNGARY
          • Budapest
        • ITALY
          • Alberobello
          • Calabria
          • Italian Lakes
          • Sardinia
          • Venice
        • MONTENEGRO
          • Kotor
        • POLAND
          • Krakow
          • Zakopane
        • PORTUGAL
          • Porto
          • Portugal Wine Regions
        • SCOTLAND
          • Edinburgh
        • SPAIN
          • Barcelona
          • Jerez
          • Mallorca
        • TURKEY
          • Istanbul
  • MIDDLE EAST
        • JORDAN
          • Desert Areas
        • QATAR
          • Doha
        • UAE
          • Dubai
Thai Red Curry Paste Recipe and Tips on How To Use a Mortar and Pestle. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Thai Red Curry Paste Recipe and Tips to How To Use a Mortar and Pestle

This Thai red curry paste is the first proper post in our new food series A Year of Asian Cookbooks. You can find my introduction to the project here. Is there a better way to start our year-long stint exploring Asian cookbooks than with making a Thai red curry paste with a mortar and pestle?

A Thai curry paste made in a mortar and pestle is a pure expression of what we’re trying to achieve with this project this year. No shortcuts. No food processors. No preservatives. Hopefully, just an authentic recipe, in this case for a Thai red curry paste, that is the basis for a delicious dish.

Curries will be a key theme this year, as we’ll be exploring the connections between the different types of curries and curry pastes used throughout Southeast Asia. We’d love you to join our curry journey. Before we tell you all about this Thai red curry paste and how to use a mortar and pestle, we have a favour to ask.

Grantourismo is reader-supported. If you’ve enjoyed our recipes, please consider supporting Grantourismo by becoming a supporter of our epic, original, first-of-its-kind Cambodian cuisine history and cookbook on Patreon. You can become a patron for as little as US$2, $5 or $10 a month, which gives you access to updates on the project and the chance to get involved in the process.

You can also support our work by using our links to book accommodation, hire a car or campervan or motorhome, purchase travel insurance, or book a tour on Klook or Get Your Guide; shopping our Grantourismo online store (we have fun gifts for foodies); or buying something on Amazon, such as these award-winning cookbooks, cookbooks by Australian chefs, classic cookbooks for serious cooks, cookbooks for culinary travellers, travel books to inspire wanderlust, gifts for Asian food lovers, picnic lovers and travellers who love photography.

Now let me tell you about this Thai red curry paste and how to use a mortar and pestle.

Thai Red Curry Paste Recipe and Tips to How To Use a Mortar and Pestle

So why should you make a Thai red curry paste, or any curry paste really, from scratch when there are sections of supermarket shelves full of pastes? Well, why make ragu bolognese when it comes in a can? If you actually think that’s okay, I’ll trust you as much as I’ll trust someone who says they cook Asian food yet they don’t own a mortar and pestle.

How to Make a Thai Red Curry Paste

The only reason to buy a pre-made paste is if you just cannot get all the ingredients and just have to have a Thai curry or you really don’t have the time. Don’t feel bad, they can taste okay, and we certainly know the feeling.

If you have the ingredients, then why not just stick them in a food processor? Because food processors rip things apart, whereas a mortar and pestle pounds a paste until it comes together. The texture is different and the taste is different.

The Thais are generally polite people. Most of them like to make people happy, which is why in most tourist restaurants they’ll make you an anodyne Thai curry light on the chilli and heavy on the coconut cream because they think that’s what you want. They’ll also tell you in cookbooks and cooking classes that you can use a food processor to make a curry. They’re just being polite.

Thai Red Curry Paste Recipe and Tips on How To Use a Mortar and Pestle. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Chef Ian Kittichai is Thai and is very polite, as well as very modest, despite running a very successful restaurant empire and producing cooking shows. His flagship Thai restaurant Issaya Siamese Club, located in a wonderful old Bangkok residence, serves up classic Thai dishes based on those his mother used to make, as well as some more innovative fare that keeps the chef’s creative juices flowing.

Chef Kittichai’s classic curries are the real deal, with flavours running rich and deep, and the Matsaman, which is also called Massaman curry, at his restaurant is phenomenal.

Did I mention that Chef Kittichai is polite? I’m guessing that’s why he’s giving readers the option of using a food processor for his Nam Phrik Kaeng Daeng (Thai Red Curry Paste) recipe in his Issaya Siamese Club cookbook. He does dedicate a full page of this huge glossy cookbook to a visual guide to making the red curry paste in a mortar and pestle, so you can take that as a subtle hint as to what he prefers.

In the cookbook, Chef Kittichai has recipes for several classic basic curry pastes, including Matsaman (or Massaman), red and green, but as his Thai red curry paste gets used for several different dishes in the book, I chose this one to start with.

But before we get to Ian’s recipe, I want to consider what other recipes are out there. The results of a quick Google search for ‘thai red curry paste recipes’ revealed a list of crimes against Thai cuisine that ran a few dozen pages long.

Some of the lowlights include using tomato paste (!), substituting ginger for galangal (they may look similar, but they do not taste similar), anchovies from a can (no, that’s not shrimp paste), paprika, and “chilli powder from the spice aisle” (really?), and substituting any other kind of lime for kaffir limes (kaffir limes and their leaves have a unique aroma).

I also noted that there are many recipes that are reasonably authentic, but add some fresh prik kii nu (bird’s-eye chillies) as well as the dried chillies. It’s actually green curry paste that has fresh green bird’s-eye chillies instead of the dried red finger chillies.

Don’t do it. Particularly if you’re new to the heat level of those little chillies that Chef David Thompson of Nahm Bangkok affectionally calls “scuds”, after the scud missile. It’s way better to use this Thai red curry paste recipe as is and then add additional chillies during the cooking process if you like.

Chef Kittichai’s version of the Thai red curry paste is a classic one, very close to David Thompson’s, although Chef Thompson adds a little nutmeg. Having watched David make some curry dishes, I know he also has a few tricks up his sleeve that really jack up the flavour (and the heat level!) before serving.

How To Use a Mortar and Pestle

A couple of quick notes on how to use a mortar and pestle to make your Thai red curry paste. The mortar and pestle should be stone – preferably granite. A medium sized one with an inner diameter of around 14cm will be big enough to make a batch of around 250 grams of Thai red curry paste, which is what this recipe is meant to make.

The rule is to always add the dried spices to the mortar first and then the ‘wet’ ingredients. Save the shallots until last as they will be very watery and make it hard to form a good paste. While this Thai red curry paste recipe does add dry then wet ingredients, it’s not explicitly explained why.

The correct action in using the pestle is not pounding straight down, but angling the pestle and contacting the side of the mortar, dragging the ingredients down into the centre, where you give a little twist and lift to start again.

To keep the mortar stable, I put a damp tea towel down, then a wooden cutting board on top, another damp tea towel and then the mortar.

This Thai red curry paste will take a while to come together. You’re meant to grind until you can’t recognise individual ingredients, such as the kaffir lime leaves, but I usually fall a little shy of that (as you can see in the photo).

Many home cooks say they use a shop-bought curry paste because they’re time-poor, yet it really only takes me about 15-20 minutes to make this Thai red curry paste in the mortar and pestle. And I have to say the process is actually therapeutic. I like the sound and the rhythm and the aromas that emanate from the mortar.

The resulting paste blows away any store-bought pastes and once you’ve made this Thai red curry paste, the process to make a finished red curry is quite simple – as you’ll see in the next post of the series.

Thai Red Curry Paste Recipe

Thai Red Curry Paste Recipe and Tips on How To Use a Mortar and Pestle. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Making Thai Red Curry Paste and How To Use a Mortar and Pestle

Print Recipe Rate Recipe
Recipe by Ian Kittichai from the Issaya Siamese Club Cookbook used here with permission.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Course: Paste
Cuisine: Thai
Servings: 250 grams*
Calories: 336kcal
Author: Terence Carter

Ingredients

  • 6 g coriander seeds
  • 6 g cumin seeds
  • 12 g coarse sea salt
  • 2 g white peppercorns
  • 15 g dried red finger chilli peppers soak in water for one hour and then squeeze the water out
  • 80 g lemongrass finely sliced
  • 20 g shallots finely chopped
  • 15 g garlic cloves
  • 10 g galangal finely sliced
  • 2 g lime zest grated**
  • 1 g Kaffir lime leaves veins removed and finely chopped
  • 20 g Thai shrimp paste
  • 1 section banana leaf substitution: aluminium foil

Instructions

  • In a dry pan, combine coriander seeds, cumin seeds, coarse sea salt and white peppercorns and cook over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Place the spices in a mortar and finely grind or use a food processor and blend until smooth. Add dried finger chilli peppers, lemongrass, shallots, garlic cloves, galangal, lime zest and kaffir lime leaves and finely grind.
  • Wrap shrimp paste in a section of banana leaf and roast the parcel in a frying pan for one minute on each side. Remove shrimp paste from the parcel and set aside. Aluminium foil can be used instead of a section of banana leaf.
  • Add shrimp paste (to the curry paste) and finely grind until smooth.
  • Curry (paste) can be stood in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

* I made this curry paste twice this week and only achieved a batch of around 180 grams. I’m going to blame my cheap digital scales purchased in Siem Reap.
** Clearly chef Kittichai implies Kaffir lime zest here.

Nutrition

Serving: 180g | Calories: 336kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Sodium: 5.952mg | Sugar: 37g

Do let us know if you make this Thai red curry paste recipe. We’d love to hear how it turned out for you.

Next up: Making a Traditional Thai Phanaeng Nua Beef Panang Curry Recipe.

Support our Cambodia Cookbook & Culinary History Book with a donation or monthly pledge on Patreon.

Related Posts You Might Like

Advertisement

Find Your Thailand Accommodation

Booking.com

Shop for related products

SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

536 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Yummly

About Terence Carter

Terence Carter is an editorial food and travel photographer and infrequent travel writer with a love of photographing people, places and plates of food. After living in the Middle East for a dozen years, he settled in South-East Asia a dozen years ago with his wife, travel and food writer and sometime magazine editor Lara Dunston.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Wesley says

    January 14, 2014 at 10:56 am

    I’m going to try to cook it today :)

  2. Wonderlusting says

    January 14, 2014 at 5:57 pm

    So it’s not my imagination food DOES taste better when i use the mortar and pestle (also an essential for African food). I make Indian curry pastes from scratch but have never done Thai – this recipe is bookmarked to try. Thanks!5 stars

  3. Lara Dunston says

    January 15, 2014 at 10:39 pm

    Make sure you come and visit us and let us know how it turned out, won’t you?

  4. Lara Dunston says

    January 15, 2014 at 10:40 pm

    You’re dead right! Do come visit us after you try it and share your experience. What’s your favourite Indian curry paste?

  5. Wonderlusting says

    January 17, 2014 at 7:00 am

    Coriander, cumin, mustard, fennel seeds + turmeric + garlic + ginger + chilli tends to be base then depending might add cinnamon/cardamon/cashew. Like Southern Indian best.

    Will do!

  6. Lara Dunston says

    January 17, 2014 at 10:29 pm

    Whatever you do, make sure you come share the results with us here, please :)

    And feel free to leave a link to any posts you write. Love hearing how others go cooking the same recipes. Thanks for dropping by!

  7. Corinne says

    January 23, 2014 at 12:25 pm

    I love Red Curry, so will have to try this recipe. Loved your mortar and pestle lesson! I’ve only made curry once with one, but let me tell you…anyone looking to beef up their arms should always go that route. I was sore for a week!5 stars

  8. Terence Carter says

    January 23, 2014 at 12:42 pm

    Corinne – yep, made another batch last night and it was 20 minutes of pounding. Luckily, I’m ambidextrous so I can swap over arms after that forearm & tricep workout! I’m really starting to despise lemongrass too – it’s much more thin and stringy in Siem Reap than back in Bangkok and takes forever to puns down. Glad you enjoyed the lesson!

  9. Mark says

    March 10, 2015 at 9:07 am

    Nice recipe but do you have one with the measurements for spices in teaspoons and tablespoons? I don’t have highly accurate scales that I can use to weigh 6 grams of cumin etcetera.

    Also, I don’t see how you could ever make 250g of paste out of 189g of ingredients so don’t blame it on your cheap scales!

    Cheers5 stars

  10. Terence Carter says

    March 10, 2015 at 10:43 am

    Hi Mark, I didn’t want to use teaspoons and tablespoons because the idea of testing these recipes was to see how accurate they were. In professional kitchens, amounts go down to the gram so that the kitchen knows the ‘exact’ recipe and can scale more easily than with cup and spoon measures.
    Ironically, the inaccuracy in the amounts in this recipe actually comes from converting things like ‘a stick of lemongrass’, ‘5 shallots’, 3 pieces of garlic etc, to grams, according to the chef. As far as conversion goes, Google is your friend!
    T

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

About Grantourismo

Lara and Terence are an Australian-born, Southeast Asia-based travel and food writers and photographers who have authored scores of guidebooks, produced countless travel and food stories, are currently developing cookbooks and guidebooks, and host culinary tours and writing and photography retreats in Southeast Asia.
READ MORE…

Featured Posts

Spicy Sunday Dinner Ideas if Sunday Night is Curry Night. Indonesian Egg Curry Recipe. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Spicy Sunday Dinner Ideas if Sunday Night is Curry Night – Spicy Curries to Cook Tonight

Best Southeast Asian Wineries to Sip Local Wine and Savour Views. Hua Hin Hill Vineyard, Hua Hin, Thailand. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Best Southeast Asian Wineries to Sip Local Wine and Savour Views

Cambodian Coconut Pineapple Fish Curry Recipe from Koh Kong. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Creamy Cambodian Coconut Pineapple Fish Curry Recipe for Samlor Ktis Koh Kong

Footer

ABOUT GRANTOURISMO

  • All About Grantourismo
  • Meet Lara and Terence
  • Work With Us
  • Itineraries, Tours & Retreats
  • Media & Advertising
  • Media Coverage
  • Contacts

THE GRANTOURISMO SHOP ON SOCIETY6

The Grantourismo Shop on Society6

GET THE BEST MANAGED WORDPRESS HOSTING

Get the Best Managed Wordpress Website Hosting with Flywheel

IMPORTANT DETAILS

  • Terms and Conditions
  • Editorial Policy
  • Comments Policy
  • Advertising
  • Privacy Policy

AMAZON AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE

Grantourismo Travels is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program.

GRANTOURISMO AFFILIATES/SUPPORT

Grantourismo is reader-supported. Posts contain various affiliate links. If you click through and purchase something, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. That income supports the work we do to create content. Here are more ways to support Grantourismo.

SUBSCRIBE

Follow us on Socials

INSTAGRAM FEED

Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
#blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram #picoftheday 
#christmas #christmastree #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas #cambodia #siemreap
This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

#siemreap #cambodia #asia #travel #instatravel #traveldeeper #slowtravel #localtravel #experientialtravel #exploremore #neverstopexploring #goexplore #igtravel #angkorwat #angkor #temple #temples #angkorwithoutcrowds #unesco #unescoworldheritagesite #unescoworldheritage #archaeology #archaeologicalsite #traveladdict #beautifuldestinations #beautifulplaces #travelgram #wanderlust #picoftheday📷 #grantourismotravels.
Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

#recipe #recipes #vietnamesefood #cambodianfood #asianfood #southeastasianfood #ricenoodles #rice #noodlebowl #meatballs #igfood #igfoodie #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #writingacookbook #writingacambodiancookbook #patreon #patreoncreator #grantourismo
It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

SAFETY WING INSURANCE

Safety Wing Insurance

Footer Widget Header

WEB LOVE

As Seen in The Guardian As Seen on NineMSN As Seen on Tnooz
As Seen In The Independent As Seen on Frommers As seen on Viator
As Seen in Afar As seen on Gadling As seen on Context
As Seen in Fathom As Seen on Matador As seen on Inspirato with American Express
As seen on the Daily Mail website As seen on the Forbes website Grantourismo on the SilverKris website

ALL MEDIA COPYRIGHT © 2009–2023 GRANTOURISMO | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
DESIGNED IN APARTMENT RENTALS, HOTELS AND RESORTS AROUND THE WORLD BY GRANTOURISMO MEDIA.
ASSEMBLED IN SOUTH-EAST-ASIA.
GRANTOURISMO TRAVELS AND ‘MAKING TRAVEL MORE MEANINGFUL AND MEMORABLE’ ARE ™ TO GRANTOURISMO MEDIA.