• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Messy Vegan Cook
  • Recipes
  • Thai Food + Travel
  • Supper Clubs
  • Subscribe
    • Bloglovin
    • Instagram
    • RSS
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • All Recipes
  • Thai Food and Travel
  • London Vegan Supper Clubs
  • About
    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Vegan Panang Curry

    20 September, 2014 by Kip 2 Comments

    The name of this central Thai curry is often confused with the Malaysian state of Penang, but the oft declared link is untrue.

    Panang curry made with mushrooms and tofu. That oily sheen is a result of the 'cracked' coconut cream.
    Vegan Penang Curry

    Panang curry falls under the category of kluk klik curries, or those which are gravy like but not soupy. The addition of peanuts in this style of red curry acts as a thickener.

    Like with all other Thai curries, Panang is best served alongside a simple portion of steamed white jasmine rice.

    Vegan Panang Curry

    Kaeng Panang Weegan – แกงพะแนงวีแก้น

    Panang curry is a tourist-in-Thailand and restaurant favourite. You will be left with a good amount of curry paste – far more than is needed by this recipe – but it will keep in the fridge for a few weeks. Try to use brands of coconut milk that do not include any ingredients aside from coconut and water (this will help to ensure that glistening oily sheen on top of the curry, but it will still taste good even without this layer).

    Vegan Penang Curry
    Panang Curry Paste Ingredients
    • 7-10 dried red long chilies
    • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
    • ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
    • 8 white peppercorns
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 2 tablespoons sliced lemongrass, lower portion with purple rings only
    • 1 teaspoon chopped galangal
    • ½ tablespoon roughly chopped kaffir lime rind
    • ½ tablespoon chopped coriander root (or 1 tablespoon chopped coriander stems)
    • 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
    • ¼ cup sliced shallots
    • 3 tablespoons roasted peanuts
    • 1 teaspoon vegan shrimp paste, dark miso or Korean doenjang
    Curry Ingredients
    • 2 tablespoons (40 grams) panang curry paste
    • ¼ cup coconut cream
    • ¾ cup coconut milk
    • ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (90 millilitres) water or sodium free stock
    • 2-3 cups mock meat or cubed tofu
    • 1 tablespoon palm sugar
    • 1-2 tablespoons thin soy sauce
    • ¼-½ teaspoon salt
    • 3 kaffir lime leaves, deveined and cut into thin slivers
    • 1 long red chili, seeded and julienned
    • Handful of Thai basil
    Directions/Method
    1. Remove the seeds from the chilies. Use a small knife or scissors to open the dried fruit lengthways and scrape the seeds out. Cut the chilies in a few pieces and soak in warm water until soft.
    2. Toast the coriander and cumin seeds over medium-low heat in a dry saucepan until fragrant. Grind with the white peppercorns using a pestle and mortar. Tip the ground spices into a small bowl.
    3. Add the salt and soaked chilies to the mortar and pound until broken down into a smooth paste. Add the lemongrass and pound until smooth. Repeat with each ingredient, in order as they are listed, ensuring each is pounded into a smooth paste before adding the next. After the shallots, add the ground dried spices and peanuts, pounding until smooth. Lastly, work the vegan shrimp paste or miso through.
    4. Add the coconut cream and coconut oil to a wok or saucepan. Cook over medium heat for a 3-4 minutes until the coconut milk begins to look curdled. Add the curry paste and fry for 2 minutes, until the smell of raw garlic is cooked out.
    5. Add the coconut milk and water, stirring to evenly incorporate the paste. Add the mock meat or tofu, palm sugar, soy sauce, and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
    6. Serve garnished with kaffir lime leaves, fresh chili and Thai basil.
    • Author: Kip Dorrell
    • Serves: 2-3, with rice
    • Cuisine: Thai

    This recipe is a replacement of a woefully inaccurate previous recipe.

    « Art of curry: boiled versus fried
    Art of Curry: Thai Curry Primer »

    Reader Interactions

    I reserve the right to improve any malicious and trollish comments left below.

    Comments

    1. Caitlin

      September 27, 2014 at 9:15 pm

      I tried this the other night; great recipe! I'm not sure whether I cracked the coconut milk properly, but it tasted glorious 🙂

      Reply
      • Kip

        September 30, 2014 at 1:43 am

        Glad you liked it and thanks for reporting back. I got into an argument last night with someone about whether or not their was oil in their food (I think in the end I convinced them it was cracked coconut cream)!

        Reply
    2. I reserve the right to improve malicious and trollish comments.

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Name's Kip. Some things about me: vegan, Thai food enthusiast, comfortably chaotic and disorganised, information lover, Londoner, cookbook collector, clumsy AF, rarely takes a serious photo, has never been on a diet. This is not a wellness blog.

    More about me →

    • All recipes
    • Thai food + travel
    • General travel
    • Reviews
    • Food facts
    • Thai winged bean salad (yam tua pu)
    • Korean Braised Tofu (Dubu Jorim)
    Vegan Thai Recipes
    Vegan Travel in Thailand
    Kippysnacks logo

    I run vegan Thai supper clubs at my home in East London. Next events are May 6, 7, and 13. Book tickets here.

    Think Like a Vegan

    Think Like a Vegan Book

    A thoughtful read for long time vegans and nonvegans alike, this is one of the best styles of arguing for and discussion veganism I have yet to find. Highly recommended reading.

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Privacy policy
    • Relationships and disclosures
    • Comments Policy
    • PR and Review Policy
    • Freelance and Consultancy

    Contact

    Email me
    Follow me on Bloglovin

    Newsletter

    All content on this site, including, but not limited to, text, recipes, and photographs are owned by Messy Vegan Cook and its contributors. No content may be reprinted or reproduced without permission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2020 Messy Vegan Cook