Panang!

The way to get Thai curry in a hurry is to use curry paste from the Asian market. It comes in cute, tiny cans, in a few varieties--I like panang and yellow. And, although Ben and I always make our Indian-style curries from scratch in order to get the spice ratios we prefer, Thai curry is another story. It's something I haven't tried very hard to personalize, because the inscrutable store-bought pastes taste heavenly (if you buy the right ones). Just saute the stuff with some tofu and vegetables and start a pot of rice boiling. Or do what I do and mix the curry paste with coconut milk to create a seriously luscious curry sauce to pour over rice and vegetables.