Royal Kroeung is used for royal dishes. The difference between Royal and Individual Kroeung is the extra ingredient used to make the paste, Chinese Parsley and Kaffir Lime leaves. This does not conclude that all Royal Kroeung requires the two extra ingredients, but it is only an additional or substituted herb to the original recipe.

Cambodians living abroad use Kaffir lime leaves instead of Kaffir lime zest, which is actually the whole lime rind that has been sun-dried, as Kaffir limes are not widely available outside of Cambodia, and by extension the South East Asian region.

There are three distinct color groups into which all Kroeung can be categorized: Red, Green, and Yellow. The dominant herb or spice present in the spice-blend paste tints the three different color Kroeung. Uncooked Kroeung will often change color as it cooks.

The list of ingredients in these Color Kroeung will vary from recipe to recipes, and there are some ingredients included purely for their coloring ability.

Kroeung Kraharm or Red Kroeung in Khmer, receives its deep color from a type of chilli pods which contributes very little flavor to the Kroeung. This desirable trait of adding a natural red color from the pulp of the chilli makes it more useful than red peppers, although as the dish is meant to be spicy, hotter chilli peppers may also be used in the spice paste.

Lemongrass stalks are used in this paste, rather than lemongrass leaves, as the leaves impart a green to the dish when cooked which can overpower the red chilli coloring. The lemongrass stalk is a pale beige color, so it easily takes on the dominant red hues from the red peppers.

* Lemongrass stalk

* Turmeric

* Shallot

* Garlic

* Galangal* Dried red pepper