Curry is also a major source of culinary pride in Thailand. Most of all, though, making curry reminded me of how serious the Thai are about fresh ingredients. You can add one or two dried spices to your paste without causing Chef San palpitations, but you can also make a perfectly good curry using no spices at all. One of the greatest treats of the class was when Chef San placed before me a sprig of fresh green peppercorns for tasting. I broke one off, chewed it, and sighed as I imagined all the things I would love to cook with this pungent ingredient but can't because fresh peppercorns are unavailable anywhere in the continental United States.
Thai curry starts with chile paste, a concentrated and fiery mash of basic flavoring elements.
Perhaps I've not given a clear enough picture of just how eccentric our instructor was. Upon hearing that my classmate Michelle was originally from Vancouver, BC, he smacked his forehead and went into a lengthy tirade about how Vancouver has surpassed Thailand in producing the world's highest quality marijuana. You can use practically any proportion of these ingredients and come up with a delicious base, but here's a tasty starting point. Chef San recommends using odd numbers for superstitious reasons and adjusting the number of shallots and garlic cloves depending on what type of meat will go in your curry. You can also make a satisfying vegetable curry with, say, green beans, bell peppers, and diced potato.