For us here at Rosa’s we see sustainability as a combination of doing good in the restaurants (reduce plastic, less food waste) but also being aware of where our ingredients come from and who’s growing them. We work closely with small scale farmers in Thailand, an initiative close to Saiphin’s heart, cutting out the middle man and getting a better deal for everyone.
In October 2022, we went back to Thailand on a good old Rosa’s Road-trip to find out more about where our products come from. We source ingredients from various regions in Thailand, each with it’s own unique climate. Next time you’re with us, take a look at the map on the back of our menus for a quick tour of our Thai ingredients!
Trang, Southern Thailand
First stop on our tour (after a few delicious days in Bangkok) was Trang. Situated in the south of Thailand, it’s an area well known for its caves, traditional roast pork and Chinese cakes, it also happens to be home to Rosa’s curry pastes!
We join Nom and Somjit in their curry factory (what’s essentially a garage extension adjacent to their house) who have been making curry paste for over 50 years. 3 years ago they joined forces with Rosa’s and now employ 12 full time employees who hand make all the curry pastes we serve at Rosa’s.
The ingredients arrive straight from the market daily and an explosion of colour and smells follows. Today we’re making a red curry paste to Saiphin’s recipe, so we’re met with an abundance of red chillies, fresh turmeric, galangal, lesser galangal, shallots, lemongrass, garlic and kaffir lime leaves.
These are the basis for a killer red curry paste! We’ve held off on the fish sauce (without compromising on taste) meaning all our curry pastes are now vegan and gluten free. After much prep and the help of a lemongrass mincing contraption, the ingredients are mixed and ground. The outcome is quite literally eye watering as the chillies release their oils – we’re told by the ladies that the green curry is the worst culprit of this. What we’re left with is a smooth paste with an incredible vibrant red colour, then its packed up and shipped to the UK to make its way into every Butternut red curry (link to recipe here), chicken & pineapple red curry and red curry stir fry we serve at Rosa’s!
