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Thai Red Curry Paste
Serves 250 Prep 1 hr Cook 5 min Total 1 hr 5 min Type Curry Origin Thai

Thai Red Curry Paste

Thailand's red curry paste: dried red chillies, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime, garlic and shrimp paste pounded into a deep.

Serves Approx. 250 ml Prep 40-60 minutes Cook 5 minutes Units Rate

Overview

Common Thai curry paste with moderate spice. Adjust chillies for heat; add more spur chillies for vibrant red color.

Ingredients

Whole spices

  • 1 generous tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 generous tbsp coriander seeds
  • 1 ½ tsp white pepper

Chillies and aromatics

  • 12 dried red bird’s eye chillies, soaked in water for 30 minutes and cut into small pieces
  • 12 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 2 shallots (medium), finely chopped
  • 1 thumb-sized piece galangal, thinly sliced
  • 2 red spur chillies, thinly sliced
  • 1 lemongrass stalk, tough outer part removed and thinly sliced
  • 10 thick coriander stalks (about 1 generous tbsp)
  • ½ lime (zest)

Paste

  • 1 tsp shrimp paste

Method

Stage 1 - Toast and grind spices

  1. Heat frying pan over medium heat; toast cumin and coriander until fragrant but not smoking.
  2. Transfer to pestle and mortar; cool and pound to powder with white pepper.

Stage 2 - Pound to paste

  1. Add dried bird’s eye chillies; pound to paste.
  2. Add garlic, shallots, galangal, spur chillies, lemongrass, coriander stalks, and lime zest.
  3. Pound 40-60 mins until smooth.

Stage 3 - Add shrimp paste

  1. Add shrimp paste; pound 5 mins to incorporate.

Notes

  • Adjust chillies for desired heat.
  • Use mortar and pestle for best flavor; add water if blending.
  • Keeps 2 weeks refrigerated; freezes 2 months.

Serving

  • Not served directly; used in red curries.

Storage

  • Refrigerate 2 weeks in airtight container.
  • Freeze up to 2 months; thaw before use.

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Thai Red Curry

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Gaeng phed gai, this classic Thai red curry features tender chicken simmered in a rich, aromatic coconut sauce infused with homemade red curry paste. The chilli paste that forms the basis of this dish has superb flavour and is worth making in quantity, as it's useful in all sorts of spicy dishes. Taking the extra time to pound herbs and spices using a mortar and pestle releases their fragrances perfectly, creating an authentic, restaurant-quality curry.

Thai 45 minutes Serves4-6