You can sub lime zest for the leaves. Won't have the same flavor depth, but still works. Don't know of a galangal sub. If you mange to find some it freezes well just like ginger.

I got this "Penang" spice mix from the Teeny Tiny Spice Company. Very good products. I highly recommend this company. Teeny Tiny Spice Company from Vermont

I also used to get a good "Bangkok Blend" from Spice Island. Don't know if they still make it.

I'll second Mae Ploy. Used to keep the yellow and red curry in the fridge.

Love Gourmet Gardens lemongrass. It's good in tuna salad.

So I made Massaman Curry since I didn't have what I needed for Panang. It was only OK. Too much peanut butter and I even added more red curry paste, but it wasn't a keeper in the long run.

Lars that is a very generous offer. I will e-mail you, thank you!

Lpink, I will also check out your link for the spice mixes. Thank you!

Still hoping to experiment until I find a Panang Curry that suits me. Appreciate all your input! This forum still rocks!

Linda

That MaePloy company looks like they have a great selection if you can find them. If you find you really love Thai curries, you can mail order most of the exotic spices. I don't eat Thai often enough to do that, so I just use the blends. But I can't get really good ones out here in the sticks.

Is there a way to send an e-mail to another forum member on this new HOUZZ format? I have not been able to find one.

Lars sent me a packet of lime leaves. What a treat! Even the envelope smelled divine. They freeze and dry well.

I ended up being given a kaffir lime tree - so far a reasonably easy house plant in very untropical Maine. And the leaves are lovely in teas and desserts as well as thai food.

My mom also grows her own galanga, turmeric and ginger with fair results.

I believe you can send messages here if you have that option turned on. I have not received any, but there is a tab where I can read messages if any are sent. I do not know if there is any way to send email from here, however, but you can send me a message here, I think.

I should try growing galanga - I can buy it the San Gabriel Nursery, but that is a trek (25 miles; 40 minutes in light traffic) from here, but I do go there occasionally to get thing I cannot find other places. I bought my cherimoya tree there, as well as my dragonfruit plant and my kaffir lime tree. There are also some good Vietnamese restaurants near the nursery.

Kaffir lime is not as tropical as some other citrus - I think it is hardy to zone 9 and can survive a light frost. Yuzu (Japanese lemon) is hard to zone 8, but neither of these citrus fruits makes much juice, although the zest abundant, as they have thick skins. They also do not need pots as large as other citrus.

See if you can message me, since I do not believe there is a way to email from here!

I can't message you. Looks like you can only message people that follow you. (Not sure what the point of "following" someone on this forum is....)

Click on Edit Profile, then Advanced Settings.

Scroll down to Who Can Message Me (make selection)

Click Update

Try messaging me from this profile - I have already received other messages here through this profile. I turned messaging on with the other profile as well, but no one has sent me anything there so far! Cindy is correct that you have to change the "Who Can Message Me" setting in order for the messages to work. I guess the default is no messaging.

OK I changed my profile to include the "Who Can Message Me".

And I sent you a message Lars on your second profile (still no option to message on the first one that I can see). Let me know if it came through.

Thanks all! I am so NOT tech savvy!

Linda

Thai is my favorite food; I recently took "another" Thai cooking class

Lars, I wasn't familiar with Thai as it had not been recognized on the east coast until long after it was happening in LA. My first introduction was when I worked in LA in the 90's. I saw Tommy Tang's cooking show on TV so I decided to go to his restaurant (now closed) in East Hollywood; I got hooked.

Had never heard of Tommy Tang until Diana L. posted this recipe here many years ago.

Tommy Tang's Santa Fe Chile Pasta

3/4 pound penne or other short tubular pasta (1 pound box is fine)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons roasted chile paste
1 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
1 cup whipping cream
4 sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil, drained and cut into 1/4-inch strips
4 sprigs fresh basil (optional)

Cook pasta in abundant boiling salted water until al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in heavy saucepan over high heat. Add onion and garlic and stir until lightly brown, about 2 minutes.

Add chili powder and chile paste and stir 1 minute.

Add coconut milk and fish sauce and bring to boil.

Add cream and return to boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes, stirring.

Increase heat to medium, add cooked pasta and stir until well coated with sauce.

Transfer to platter and top with sun-dried tomatoes. Garnish with basil and serve.

~Diana

Diana, that sounds great. I'm sure it's in my Tommy Tang cookbook but it would take me longer to find the book (400 cookbooks down from 800) than to make this recipe so thanks.

You're right, Linda - you cannot message me on my other profile! I will have to try to fix that when I get home. I did get your message here.

Thai food was very trendy in San Francisco in the late 1970s and early 80s, possibly before it was trendy in L.A. I have been to Tommy Tang's restaurant on Melrose in L.A., but that location is no longer open. Every Tuesday his waiters would wear drag back in the 1990s.

I bought my first Thai cookbook in the 1980s so that I could make Thai seafood soup, like what I got in San Francisco. There are Thai restaurants everywhere in L.A. now - not just in Thai Town. On the west side (where I have always lived in L.A.) they are more common than Chinese. The Chinese restaurants tend to be on the east side or central. Chinatown is north of downtown, but Thai Town is northwest of downtown.

Once I master the Penang Curry, I am going to tackle Tom Kha Gai (sp)!

Tom Kha Gai is super simple to make. If you can't find galangal I'd be happy to send you a piece once our weather cools a bit.

Linda, I have had success with Tom Kha Gai so if I can do it you certainly can!

I love making (and eating!) Thai curries and soups. It was fun to buy the lemon grass, lime leaves, etc. to make my own curry pastes, and since those ingredients came in such large quantities at the Asian markets I keep them in the freezer (and I put them in things frozen and they work fine). But the truth is, after the fun and education of making my own curry pastes the first few times, I've been using the canned curry pastes available at Asian markets (and maybe supermarkets, too), and they are just fine and cost very little. The cans are 4 ounces, and I freeze the extra in half-tablespoons (and I use that straight from the freezer, too). I think the brand I get is Maesri. They make many different kinds. It makes it super easy to make Thai curries in a hurry. But if you make your own curry paste, you can make a lot and freeze that in small lumps, too.

I did buy a jar of red curry paste, and it was fine in the Massaman curry that I made. Could have been a bit more flavorful, but then the peanut butter in the recipe I used kind of overwhelmed any other flavor! Won't be making that particular recipe again.

I will try my own and freeze it. If I find it's too putzy it's good to know there are decent brands out there!

Thanks all!

Linda