Three different-colored Thai curry pastes, how are they different? Three different-colored Thai curry pastes that are readily available (plus Panang curry), green,yellow, and red. How do they differ in taste and heat? I’m pretty sure that it’s not green for “mild,” yellow for “medium,” and red for “scorch your mouth.” As I age, my tolerance for spicy foods is, alas, diminishing.
Thai curry pastes can have a variety of ingredients, depending on the style and region. Some of the most common components, however, are shallots, garlic, chiles, lemongrass, galangal, fermented fish/shrimp. The chiles give the color: a red paste is made with dark red (dried) chiles. Green is made with fresh green chiles, and yellow with light red (dried) chiles. The only other pigmented ingredient in curry pastes is fresh turmeric, which gives a brighter color, and makes the paste yellow when combined with bright red chiles.

Green is usually the hottest.