During many of my travels I found that red curry pastes differed in their ingredients, some have star anise in them, others have fennel seeds and some have palm sugar.
To be perfectly honest, I think the best tasting paste to me is the Isan variant of Khaeng Phed (hot curry or red curry) which is quite strong (and not for the faint hearted) and can be added or subtracted to in order to make a variety of other dishes. I learned this recipe from my neighbours in Nong Khai.
