Green Curry Paste (Nam Prik Gaeng Khiao Wan)
Green curry (gaeng khiao wan — literally green sweet curry) is among the most internationally recognised Thai preparations, though the commercial versions found outside Thailand bear little resemblance to the correctly made fresh-paste version. Thompson's *Thai Food* is explicit: a green curry made from a commercially produced paste is a different preparation entirely. The fresh-green character of the paste determines the dish.
The most aromatic and most volatile of the major Thai curry pastes — built on fresh green chillies of varying types, the green of which defines its visual and flavour character. Green curry paste is the freshest-tasting paste in the Thai repertoire: it smells of lemongrass and kaffir lime with an immediacy that no other paste achieves, and it must be used within 24 hours of making or the fresh aromatic compounds that define it have dissipated.