Top 8 Thai green pastes to spice up a home-cooked curry

Hot, hot, hot!

These sauces are fresher than other curry styles, and a spoonful makes a great rescue remedy for dull dishes.

A spoonful of the light, bright fragrances and flavours of Thailand can send the senses on the trip of a lifetime. Green chilli, lemongrass, galangal (more peppery than ginger) and warm turmeric, cumin and coriander, often shrimp paste (for umami/saltiness), combine for a heady kitchen vacation to an exotic country.

Coconut milk/cream makes a good base and provides a creamy sauce for vegetables, prawns, monkfish, haddock, cod and chicken – nothing too heavy. Cut chunks of seasonal butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, cauliflower, and potatoes for one of your vegetarian meals of the week.