I've been asked to make a Thai Red curry with chicken for a larger party, and they've asked for the soup to be of variable spicyness.
I was thinking that maybe I could do the soup mild, and have an additive with extra spice.
I could go with chilli oil ofc, but I'd prefer to have the richness of the red curry flavors if possible.
Is there a good way to make some kind of red curry seasoning?
Do I just offer the guests red curry paste to mix into the soup, or should I mix it with something?
Just make your one regular base curry. The spiciness is adjusted by how much chilis you add to the final dish. So to make a spicy batch, sauce some Thai chilis until fragrant then add your curry. That way you can designate spiciness by how many chilis you add.
If you just want to make one, milder curry you could do a sambal on the side. It's not Thai but it's big in nearby countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore etc.
It's a bit like a much hotter siracha but there are loads of varieties, some have shaved coconut for a bit of texture and sweetness etc.
Edit: forgot to say, sambals have similar flavours to Thai stuff, so lemongrass, chilli, coconut etc. Thought it would compliment nicely even if not strictly traditional.