Indian Curry vs. Thai Curry vs. Japanese Curry: What’s the Difference?

For many consumers globally, curries are a favourite dish and one enjoyed regularly. However, what we mean by “curry” changes dramatically depending on where you are in the world. Many Asian countries have their own version of curry, each defined by local ingredients and flavour preferences.

Today, we will examine three famous types of curry: Indian, Thai, and Japanese. The food experts at Hela Spice will explain what each of these curries tastes like, what ingredients they use, and how they are different.

What is Indian curry?

Much like the curry spice blend, “curry” is an anglicized concept. “Curry” is an English word taken from the Tamil name for sauce, “kari.” It was applied to any Indian dish with a gravy-like base that was served over rice or with bread like naan or roti. As you might imagine, a variety of different Indian dishes fall into this category. For example:

• Korma: Meats or vegetables braised in fats like ghee or yogurt. It often uses whole spices like black pepper, cloves, fennel seeds, black cardamoms, nutmeg, and mace.
• Tikka Masala: Made with a tomato purée base, cream, and spices like garam masala, cumin, and ground coriander. A meat, like chicken, is roasted and marinated in this spicy sauce.
• Vindaloo: Features a vindaloo sauce made from a spicy paste (including mustard seeds, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and chili peppers) and vinegar. Meat, onions, garlic, and other vegetables are cooked in this paste.
• Dahl: Lentils are the key ingredient. Yellow or red split lentils are simmered with warming spices and often coconut milk, tomatoes, and broth. 

What is Japanese curry?

Japanese curry also owes its origins to the English. The British navy brought curry powder from India to Japan during the Meiji Restoration in the 19th century. Remember, Indian curry powder is a blend assembled by the British consisting of the spices most commonly in Indian curries (turmeric, cumin, ground coriander, ginger, chili, etc).

In Japan, curry powder is used to create a thick, gravy-like, dark brown sauce. Vegetables like onions, carrots, and potatoes are added to the sauce, along with ground meat or fish. The sauce is often topped with a crispy fried piece of meat called “katsu.” As with Indian curries, Japanese curry is served over rice.

There are some regional variations as well. In northern Honshu, apples and honey give the curry an additional burst of sweetness. Meanwhile, in southern Kyushu, curries are often made spicier with extra peppers.

What is Thai curry?

The foundation of a Thai curry is curry paste. There are many different types of curry paste, each of which contains slightly varying ingredients. However, they commonly include hot chilies, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, shallot, shrimp paste, and dried herbs like cumin, coriander, and turmeric. 

Thai curries start as a paste, but become soupier as liquids are added. Coconut milk, in particular, is a signature ingredient that adds liquid and a creamy sweetness. Vegetables, chicken, and seafood are other common ingredients. It’s often served with jasmine rice or over noodles, and then topped with fresh mint or cilantro.

• Red Curry Paste: Made with dried long red chilies, cilantro root, coriander, cumin, garlic, shallots, kaffir lime rind, white peppercorn, lemongrass, shrimp paste, sea salt, and galangal. This is the hottest type of Thai curry.
• Green Curry Paste: Consists of fresh green chilies, shallots, lemongrass, white pepper, coriander root, garlic, kaffir lime rind, shrimp paste, and salt. As far as spiciness, green curries are the mildest Thai curry.
• Yellow Curry Paste: A mellow sweet-spicy paste made from turmeric, coriander, cumin, lemongrass, galangal, shrimp paste, dried red chilies, sea salt, ginger, garlic, and shallots.
• Panang Curry Paste: Includes dried red long chilies, shallots, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime rind, coriander root, white pepper, salt, and shrimp paste. It’s topped with thick coconut cream and, on occasion, peanuts.
• Massaman Curry Paste: Combines dried red chilies, cloves, white pepper, shallots, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, shrimp paste, coriander, cumin, and salt. Massaman curries are thick and have a mild, slightly sweet taste.

What are the differences?

Main Ingredients

Indian Curry: Traditional Indian curries use a complex assortment of bold and flavourful spices. Although different dishes rely on different collections of spices, turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, chili peppers, and garlic are very common. Depending on the region, yogurt, coconut milk, or tomato purée are used as the curry paste. Indian cooking also relies on ghee, a dairy-based cooking oil.

Japanese Curry: Japanese curry often uses pre-made curry cubes to speed up preparation. These cubes contain flour, and oil or butter, and key spices such as turmeric, red peppers, chili, ginger, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, black pepper, star anise, and other spices. Many Japanese curries also include an orange peel for some citrusy notes.

Thai Curry: Thai curries rely on curry paste. The paste is commonly made from hot chilies, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, shallot, shrimp paste, and dried herbs. In addition, coconut milk is used as the base.

Cooking Process

Indian Curry: The spices are bloomed in oil or ghee before the base (tomato purée, coconut milk, or yogurt) is added. Then, the meat and vegetables are simmered in the gravy. Many Indian dishes call for the meat to be marinated in spices overnight.

Japanese Curry: Roux, those pre-packaged curry cubes, are the base of all Japanese curries. It’s added to broth or oil and thickened to create a stew-like sauce. Onions, potatoes, carrots, and meat are thrown into the stew.

Thai Curry: First, the curry paste has to be made. It is then combined with oil and liquids (including coconut milk) to create a creamy but thin consistency. Meat and vegetables are added. Thai curries frequently feature seafood.

Sweetness and Spiciness

Indian Curry: Indian curries range from mildly spicy to very hot, depending on the type of chili peppers used (and how much). Additionally, many Northern Indian dishes have a distinctive sour taste because they use yogurt.

Japanese Curry: Spice levels do vary, but Japanese curry is generally much milder than Indian curry. It has a hint of sweetness, although some regional variations can be quite sweet (like in northern Honshu). Japanese curry can be salty as well.

Thai Curry: Thai curry pastes feature large amounts of hot chilies, making many Thai curries intensely spicy. However, the coconut milk base adds a layer of seductive sweetness.

Consistency

Indian Curry: The consistency of Indian curries varies considerably between dishes. Some have a soup-like consistency, which is why they’re served with rice. Others, however, are extremely thick and intended to be eaten with bread as a result.

Japanese Curry: Japanese curries are almost always thick and more like gravy because flour is incorporated into the roux.

Thai Curry: Unlike the other two curries, Thai Curries are much more like liquid. Coconut milk and water or broth lighten the curry to create a thin consistency.

Appearance

Indian Curry: Indian curries are known for their bold and vibrant colours. Turmeric-based dishes are bright yellow-orange, while others featuring a tomato purée base and chili powders are a deep red. Dishes that use garam masala are often brown.

Japanese Curry: The roux gives Japanese curries a dark brown colour. 

Thai Curry: Thai curries vary in colour depending on the type of paste. Green curry gets its green hue from the fresh green chili pepper and herbs like cilantro and basil. Red curry is made with dried red chili peppers, giving it an amber-red colour. Lastly, yellow curry owes its golden colour to turmeric.

Hela Spice: A Food Product Development Company

The world is full of flavours and full of curries. Does your product line reflect this? Hela Spice can help introduce new, enticing flavour profiles into your offerings, as well as develop your next best-selling food product. Contact us today to learn how to offer more curry to your customers.

To learn more about our food product development company, visit our website or contact us here.