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Panang Curry Paste substitute

Best substitute

Red curry paste plus peanut butter and sugar

For 1 tablespoon panang paste use 1 tablespoon red curry paste, 2 teaspoons peanut butter and 1 teaspoon palm or brown sugar

Best for panang chicken, beef or duck

Close match

The nearest paste on the shelf, thickened and sweetened toward panang.

Other panang curry paste substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

Substitutes for Panang Curry Paste with ratios

  1. 2Massaman curry paste

    Different taste

    Use about three quarters as much

    The mild, warm-spiced Thai paste, and the closest single jar to panang.

    What changes
    Best for
    when you have one jar and it is massaman, chicken and beef curries, cooking for people who do not want heat

    Massaman shares panang's richness, sweetness and mildness, which is why it substitutes better than red does on texture. What it adds is warm dry spice, so the curry picks up a cinnamon and clove character that reads more like a spiced stew than panang. Use less than the recipe says, since massaman is also sweeter, and add a teaspoon of chili paste if you miss panang's gentle bite.

  2. 3Yellow curry paste plus peanut butter

    Different taste

    Use 1 tablespoon for 1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons peanut butter for every tablespoon of panang curry paste

    The mildest paste, given panang's body and roasted note.

    What changes
    Best for
    children and heat-sensitive eaters, chicken panang, when red paste would be too hot

    Considerably milder than panang and turmeric-yellow rather than deep brick red, so the curry looks wrong even when it tastes decent. A teaspoon of sweet paprika restores the colour without adding heat, and a teaspoon of chili garlic paste restores the edge if you want it. The peanut butter is what makes this work at all.

  3. 4Homemade panang paste

    Close match

    This makes about a third of a cup, roughly 5 tablespoons

    The real paste, and the only version that tastes properly of panang.

    What changes
    Best for
    getting it right, cooks with an Asian grocer nearby, making a batch to freeze

    Toast 2 teaspoons coriander seed and 1 teaspoon cumin seed, then grind. Blend with 8 dried red chilies soaked in hot water and seeded, 1 shallot, 4 garlic cloves, the tender part of 1 lemongrass stalk, 1 tablespoon grated galangal, 3 tablespoons roasted unsalted peanuts, 2 kaffir lime leaves with the centre rib removed, 1 teaspoon shrimp paste and half a teaspoon salt, adding a little of the chili soaking water. The roasted peanuts and the coriander seed are the two things that make it panang and not red.

  4. 5Thai peanut sauce plus chili garlic paste

    Different taste

    For 1 tablespoon panang paste use 1 tablespoon peanut sauce and 1 teaspoon chili garlic paste

    A shortcut using a finished satay sauce for the nutty base.

    What changes
    Best for
    when there is peanut sauce in the fridge and no curry paste, quick chicken curries, noodle bowls

    Be honest about what this gives you: a peanut curry, not panang. Peanut sauce is already sweet and salty, so skip any sugar the recipe calls for and taste before adding fish sauce, or it will turn cloying and heavy. It also has no lemongrass or galangal, so the curry lacks the fresh aromatic backbone. A strip of lime zest and a squeeze of lime at the end helps a lot.

  5. 6Curry powder with paprika and peanut butter

    Taste and texture differ

    For 1 tablespoon panang paste use 2 teaspoons curry powder, 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, 2 teaspoons peanut butter and 1 teaspoon fish sauce

    The bare pantry version.

    What changes
    Best for
    no paste of any kind in the house, a mild peanut coconut curry, weeknight improvisation

    This is the weakest option on the page. With no lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime or roasted chili it tastes flat and a little dusty, and the paprika is only there for colour. Fry the powders in oil for 45 seconds before liquid goes in so they do not taste raw, and finish with lime and plenty of Thai basil. It makes a pleasant dinner that nobody would call panang.

What is Panang Curry Paste?

Panang Curry Paste is Panang curry paste, also spelled phanaeng, panaeng or penang, is a thick Thai paste built like red curry paste but with roasted dried chilies, extra coriander seed and a distinctive addition of ground roasted peanuts, which is why panang curry is richer, thicker, sweeter and less soupy than red curry.

Cooking tips

  • Panang is supposed to be thick enough to coat the meat rather than pool around it. Use the solid cream from the top of the coconut milk can and hold back most of the thin liquid, then reduce it further than you would a red curry.
  • Fry the paste in coconut cream until the oil separates and it smells nutty and toasted. Substitutes containing peanut butter can catch and scorch, so keep the heat medium and keep stirring.
  • Finish with kaffir lime leaf shredded as finely as you can manage, stacked and cut into hair-thin threads with the tough centre rib removed. It is the single cue most people register as panang, and no substitute reproduces it well. Fine strips of lime zest are a distant second.
  • Panang needs less sugar than massaman and less liquid than red curry. Season with fish sauce first, then only a small pinch of palm sugar, and taste before adding more of either.
  • The spelling on the jar changes by brand: phanaeng, panaeng, penang and panang are all the same paste. Despite the spelling, it has nothing to do with the Malaysian state of Penang.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between panang and red curry paste?

They share almost the same base, but panang uses roasted dried chilies, more coriander seed and ground roasted peanuts. That makes panang thicker, sweeter, nuttier and milder than red curry, and it is usually served as a thick sauce clinging to the meat rather than as a soupy curry. Red curry is hotter, thinner and brighter.

Can I use red curry paste instead of panang curry paste?

Yes, and it is the standard fix, but add 2 teaspoons of peanut butter and a teaspoon of palm sugar per tablespoon of paste. Without those the dish is just a red curry. Reduce the sauce further than usual so it thickens, and finish with finely shredded kaffir lime leaf.

Can I just leave the panang paste out?

No. The paste supplies the heat, the salt, the aromatics and much of the thickness, so without it you have coconut milk and meat. The least-bad no-paste version is coconut cream simmered with curry powder, sweet paprika, garlic, ginger, peanut butter and fish sauce, finished with lime. It will be a decent peanut coconut curry.

Is panang curry spicy?

It usually sits between mild and medium, hotter than massaman and yellow but gentler than red or green. The roasted chilies give depth rather than sharp heat, and the peanuts and coconut cream soften it further. Brands vary, so taste a dab of your jar on a spoon before deciding how much to use.

Does panang curry paste contain peanuts?

Very often yes, and that matters for allergies. Ground roasted peanuts are one of the ingredients that distinguishes panang from red curry paste, so read the label carefully. If you are cooking around a peanut allergy, build the red curry paste version above using sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter, which gives similar body and roast.

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