SP Herb Green Curry Paste product reviews

Out of the vast range of curries available, Green curry is one of my favourites because of the sweet and spicy aromas it has and the beautiful chilli flavour it carries but it is sometimes hard to get right if you are making it yourself trying to please kids. I looked over the packet and noticed it also required the addition of coconut milk which wasn't a problem for me as we regularly use coconut milk for the numerous curries we make but could see people running into trouble starting to cook then seeing they need to add it and not have any.

The SP Herb green curry paste was to my liking as it packed a punch in the spice department but that was an issue trying to get my children to eat it as it was too spicy and it also took away the flavours of the curry because of the high chilli burn. I tried adding more coconut milk and sugar to bring the heat down but that had little effect and hardly dulled the spice at all. So it worked well for me as I had more for myself saved for work lunches. I actually found that I enjoyed this meal when it was cold as the coolness did damper the heat a little bit but it also bought out more of the curry flavours.

Overall I wouldn't purchase this curry paste instore as I have had ones that taste far better and also suit my children's taste buds. It's not that I don't like this curry it's just for the same price I have had ones that I prefer. One suggestion I could offer would be to also clearly state on the front of the packaging any additional ingredients that would be required to cook the meal so it triggers a response if when purchasing from a store you can grab those items at the same time.

When I saw this green curry paste, and it said gluten free I was really excited as I love curries and the easier the better to be honest. When I decided to make this for dinner one night I was very overwhelmed by the back of the packet, noticed I needed coconut milk which I didn't have, but sent hubby down the road to pick some up. I carried on reading and found there are some allergens listed and shrimp being one. I would of never had a second guess on it but I'm actually allergic to shellfish so I wasn't going to risk eating this one.

I did however cook it up for the family, the smell while it was cooking was amazing and I was actually jealous I wasn't going to eat any. When I dished it up dinner was hardly eaten, I got complaints that I was too spicy, didn't like it and it looks funny. I honestly took it upon myself and tried it (a risk I chose to take and lucky it didn't affect me). Now upon eating it, I felt it wasn't up to the curries I have had made from thai people. I was actually disappointed with this curry. I loved the smell but the taste wasnt my cup of tea.

I have never really been much of a curry eater as I have never been able to eat anything too spicey, but over the last year (with a new partner who loves to cook) I have been trying more and more foods with spice and am able to tolerate a higher spice level than I have done in the past. I tried two other curry pasts from SP Herb last year, so when this green curry paste came up for review I put my request in and hoped I would be successful. I was excited to receive one and my partner and I figured out when we would be able to cook it together.

Tonight was the night - finally it was time to try curry! We were keeping it simple - chicken thighs and some frozen vege mix to add as I really wanted to get a good taste of the curry paste without over crowding it with other flavours. Reading the instructions we saw we needed some coconut milk to add to it. I do find it a little bit off that there isn't a list of what you need to add to it as many packet sauces do, but perhaps this is because it is an international product and it may not be something they separate into a list on their packages normally.

I do have to admit - I ended up not being part of cooking this meal, as my partner decided to cook while I was soaking in the bath after a hard gym session! He cut up the chicken and had it ready to go before he began following the instructions. The curry paste was easy enough to get out of the packet and it wasn't long before there was a nice fragrant smell wafting through the house. The coconut milk and chicken was added and cooked until the chicken was cooked through, as instructed. Once the chicken was cooked the remaining coconut milk was added along with the vegetables and it simmered until the vegetables had cooked and the sauce had reduced a little bit. My partner served the curry over some japanese sticky rice. The smell was just amazing! Taking my first mouthful I was surprised by how much heat there was in the sauce, as it certainly hadn't smelt too spicey. It was however a level that I could tolerate, and even though it eventually made my lips tingle, it seems I can tolerate more than I could as I kept eating it! It was spicey enough to make both of our noses run, but we both absolutely loved it. It had a really nice flavour, and was so so simple to make. This is something we would love to keep in the pantry for when we need a quick, healthy meal, especially if we want left overs for lunch the next day as it can definitely be bulked out with more meat and vegetables to make it go further.

Green curry is one of my favourite meals so I was looking forward to trying this product. Being aware that curry pastes and powders vary significantly in strength, I was careful to try a little first to evaluate the heat power - I was cooking for an elderly couple who enjoy hot food (having lived for years in Singapore) but not TOO hot! I thought the paste was quite strong, so decided to use just half (25g) with the suggested amounts for the other ingredients unchanged. I was planning to use chicken and coconut cream according to the recipe on the packet.

I found this recipe was perfect. I had some shredded chicken which I had previously cooked in a slow cooker, so I used that with some of the juices to combine with coconut cream and the paste. The smell as it simmered was delicious so I could not wait to taste it, but I know from experience that curry is often better cooked and then reheated as it gives the flavours a chance to blend and mellow. I also added some chopped leeks while it was simmering so we would have our vegetables included!

Next day, I cooked some black rice (now a firm favourite) and added more coconut cream to the curry as it was reheating. It was a little too thick and I still had some chicken stock left so I put in some more of that as well. My visitors arrived and immediately commented on the aromas that met them at the door - they too love green curry and instantly recognised what I was cooking! I had poured some chilled beer to have with the meal, so we started on that while I was still dishing up.

We sat down to a splendid dinner, with all three of us thoroughly enjoying it. It was still quite spicy so I was glad I had halved the recommended quantity of curry paste. I don't mind hot food myself, but there is a limit even for me and certainly my visitors thought it was exactly the right strength. The added bonus is that I have another half-packet for next time, and that will not be too long in the future.

The comment they made, after we had finished eating and were sitting around discussing the curry, was about the ease of preparation to produce a substantial and very tasty meal. They make curry too, but it involves lots of different spices and other ingredients. This curry, with the pre-prepared spice mix and just three other ingredients, was simplicity itself. They even went home with a screenshot of the packet so they could track it down themselves.

This Green Curry Paste comes in a very condensed spice and so the packet itself takes up so little space in the pantry, which could be very handy if you are low on space. If you are someone like me, then you could run into some preparation issues as it isn't until you are reading the cooking instructions that you see it needs coconut milk and the back is so full and crowded that I didn't really feel like reading through it immediately, so a note on the front of 'just add coconut milk' would be a handy addition and just help avoid people like me who begin to cook and then go 'oops, now I have to dash out to the supermarket'.

You first mix the paste with some oil until it starts smelling good and you then add the meat of your choice, I went with some sliced turkey I had left over, as even without adding meat, this is not a vegetarian friendly paste (something that would put me off buying this). After adding your meat you add 125g of coconut milk (a frustrating moment of having to work out how much that would mean in mls) and then once the meat is cooked through, you add another 125g of coconut milk. Simmer, add some veges and then I served it on rice. None of my kids wanted more than a teaspoon worth of their dinner, all claiming it too spicy and didn't taste nice at all.

I personally didn't like the paste at all and won't be buying this.