Thai Manna

"My curry is really runny / thick. "
The consistency of your curry will depend on the type of coconut milk you've chosen. The easiest way to determine the consistency of a coconut milk is by the calorie content on the label. They range anywhere from about 20 calories to 150 calories per serving. The higher calorie options are going to provide a thick rich curry.

Your consistency may also be affected by your cooking method. The longer your curry simmers, the thicker it will become. Alternately, if you cook it covered it will become thinner.

"Coconut Milk health benefits and weight gain."
We can provide either a heavy coconut milk option for a richer creamier curry as well as our light coconut milk with our kits. If you research the benefits of coconut milk you’ll find several articles with just about the same information, we’ve quoted the below for a quick reference.

"If you are concerned about the saturated fat content in coconut milk, know that this saturated fat is a good saturated fat, easily metabolized to give your body quick energy. Contrary to popular myth, it does not transform into bad cholesterol to clog up arteries. In fact, cultures around the world that depend on coconut as their main source of fat have been found to be free of heart disease. The principle fatty acid in coconut milk is lauric acid, which is the same fat found in abundance in mother's milk and is known to promote normal brain development and contribute to healthy bones. It also has important anti-carcinogenic and anti-pathogenic properties and is less likely to cause weight gain than polyunsaturated oils."
http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/ingredients/cocmilk.html

"My Red Curry isn't as red as I remember it in Thailand."
Red Curry gets its color from the red chili peppers used in the paste. In order to keep our pastes mild enough for everyone we cut back the amount of chilies by half of what the Thai's use. By doing this, we can provide a fantastic Red Curry with all the vibrant fresh flavor without the tears.

"My curry is too salty"
You can control the level of salt in your curry with the amount of fish sauce you use. If you find that once cooked your curry is too salty, you can add a peeled potato to your curry and simmer. The longer the potato is in there, the more salt it will absorb.

"My curry looks like it has Millions of 'little hairs' in it"
Not to worry! Lemongrass is used in all of our pastes and has a fibrous texture that can sometimes cause confusion.

"My curry is too sweet"
If you have already made your curry, it's a little late to rectify the sweetness level at this point, however, for future dishes, you can control the sweetness level by altering the amount of palm sugar used.

"It looks like there are crystals floating in my fish sauce."
Crystallization of the salt in the fish sauce is common and does not cause any problems with taste, health or otherwise to your dish.

"How should I store my curry kit?"
Keep the perishables inside your curry kit refrigerated. These items will last up to 14 days in your fridge, however, if you plan to make up your kit outside of a week we encourage you to place your perishables in a freezer bag inside your freezer for up to 6 months.

The rice, fish sauce and palm sugar in your kit does not require refrigeration however feel free to place the whole box in the fridge or freezer if you like.

"How spicy are Thai Manna curries?"
Omitting the chili peppers provided in your kit will keep your dish mild. Adding the chilies whole or de-seeding them will allow for a medium spicy dish and for a really spicy dish, cut up the peppers (seeds and all) into small pieces.

For a family with varying levels of spice tolerance try cutting some up and sprinkling them over a prepared plate instead of cooking right into the curry. Once the chili peppers have been added to your dish there’s not much you can do to lessen the heat without sacrificing the flavor. Adding more coconut milk may help, but will dilute the flavor of the paste.

Try serving a plate of sliced cucumber with your curry to help ease some of the sting from a dish that’s a little too spicy. For emergencies (someone mistook a chili for a red pepper), rush to the rescue with a glass of milk or a spoonful of sugar.

Gluten - All of our curries are Gluten free
Dairy - All of our curries are Dairy free
Vegetarian – You’re the chef, you can omit meat from any of our curries and still enjoy a fantastic vegetable dish with all of the flavor.
Vegan - You can omit meat from any of our curries, however, we currently use shrimp paste in all of our curry pastes. We can provide a custom ordered 'shrimp paste free' curry at your request. The kits also include fish sauce which can be substituted with soya sauce.
Shellfish Allergies - We currently use shrimp paste in all of our curry pastes. We can provide a custom ordered 'shrimp paste free' curry at your request.
Diabetic - All of our pastes are free of sugar. Inside the curry kit, we provide a small portion of palm sugar that would be used while preparing your meal, however, it can be easily omitted.
Peanut Allergies - We provide separately packaged peanuts in the Massaman and Panang curry kits. Red and Green kits are peanut free however, although we try to be careful we cannot guarantee our pastes came from a peanut free environment.
Hot and Sour Soup: The chicken stock provided in your hot and sour soup kit may contain (or have come into contact with) egg, wheat, milk, sugar, soy and msg. Substitute with your own chicken stock as desired or simply omit the chicken stock and just use water.

"We’re trying to cut back on white rice and / or carbohydrates. Any suggestions?"
Try a brown basmati with your curry as a substitution for Jasmine.
For those picky eaters that just don’t like rice for whatever reason you can serve our curries with vermicelli rice noodles (they won’t know it’s really just rice in a noodle form).

If you want to stay away from starches altogether our curries are fantastic over a bed of baked spaghetti squash or some of your favorite steamed vegetables!

"My coconut milk looks like it curdled while I was cooking it, is it still okay to eat and what did I do wrong?"
Taste and safety wise there is absolutely nothing wrong with your dish so go ahead and enjoy. To ensure it doesn’t happen in future dishes just ensure that you do not increase the heat too quickly when making your curry and you’ll have no problems.

"I’d hate to waste my coconut milk, what can I do with the leftovers from my small Panang kit?"
There are so many great uses for leftover coconut milk. Store it in the fridge and use it in your next stir fry or smoothie. You can sweeten your next glass of milk, hot chocolate or coffee. Substitute some of the water for your rice with your remaining coconut milk for a sweeter coconut jasmine rice.