Thai curry pastes without fish

[peliroja]

I was shocked to discover that all the thai curry pastes and sauces I can find contain fish (anchovies). Ugh! For a vegetarian, this is not a pleasant discovery.

Does anyone know of any non-fishy thai bases, or have their own recipes to share?

[Julian]

EvilTesco sell a fishy-free one.  I think you have to get the red paste though, not the green one. 

If EvilTesco doesn't appeal, the geo-organics one is vegan:  here and also in Holland & Barrett and Fresh & Wildly Expensive.

Alternatively you can make your own - just replace the Thai fish sauce with light soy sauce.

[Craig]

I have a jar of Blue Dragon Green Curry Paste here, probably got it at Morrisons. It doesn't have any fish in it, and says "suitable for vegetarians and vegans" on it.

[peliroja]

Thank you both! I'll take a look.

I was looking at Sainsbury's offerings... they ALL have fish in!

[Chris N]

EvilTesco sell a fishy-free one.  I think you have to get the red paste though, not the green one. 

Tesco green curry paste says 'suitable for vegetarians' on it too.

[Julian]

In that case it may be the other way round.  I know one of them is ok and the other isn't. 

I also know that Sainsbury's only do un-veggie ones, which is how I found the geo-organics one - Holland & Barratt is next door to Sainsbury's here!

[simonp]

Make your own. 

I have a thai veggie cookbook that says how.

[dasmoth]

Alternatively you can make your own - just replace the Thai fish sauce with light soy sauce.

+1

Takes half an hour to make a supply that will last weeks.  There are many recipes on the web.  The one I tend to use has disappeared, but there are several that are close.  If in doubt, more chillis and less shallots.

Must make some more soon.

[Tom B]

Clicky or clicky2 (click individual products for details)

Clicky2 products are sold in our local vegan grocery; they are especially scrupulous about sourcing

[Jezza]

It's often shrimp paste that is added. Seems to be more common in green. Anchovies might be nam pla fish sauce.

I use the Thai Taste curry pastes Tom linked to, which don't mention any fish in the ingredients list. 

[Kathy]

Yebbut...

It tastes so much better with the shrimp paste.  (I make my own sauces, and forgot to add the shrimp paste once. Never again, unless I'm catering for veggies)).

[bikenerd]

We made Goan fish (mackerel) curry last night.  It was yummy.

I know this doesn't help!

(However, it was similar to a Thai curry, with coconut milk.  We made our own paste from a recipe by Anjum Anand.)

[peliroja]

Yebbut Kathy, I'm vegetarian (and hate the taste of fish).

[geraldc]

Fish sauces, never taste that fishy. Nam pla, oyster sauce, worcestershire sauce etc. They've been fermented so long there's no fishy taste. Still the ethical problem though.  A lot of them are naturally high in glutamate, you could always just add a bit of MSG instead.

[Jezza]

Depends what kind you get. I find Thai ones tend to be fishier, and some are pretty ripe. Squid brand is too fishy for me. Golden Boy is good. I prefer the sweeter Vietnamese nuoc mam Phu Quoc, Three Crabs brand. But it's still definitely an acquired taste.   

[simonp]

When I was vegetarian for 5 years the one thing I could not give up was my Nam pla prik at the Wrestlers.

[pcolbeck]

Fish sauce is the classic ingredient in Thai cooking. They tend to use it in everything.