Thai Green Curry Paste
Authentic recipe for a homemade Thai green curry paste for the DIY minded. Once you have the paste, use it in this Thai green curry recipe.
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 20 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp white peppercorns
- 15 g green Thai chilies or serrano peppers
- 15 g milder green chilies (see note 1)
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- 15 Thai basil leaves, julienned (optional, see note 2)
- 3 Tbsp thinly sliced lemongrass, from bottom half only
- 1 ½ Tbsp finely chopped galangal
- 2 tsp finely chopped makrut lime zest (or zest of half a lime)
- 2 cilantro roots or 4 cilantro stems, finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp finely chopped shallots
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped garlic
- 1 tsp fermented shrimp paste (optional, see note 3)
Instructions
- 1
If your spice tolerance isn't super high, remove the seeds and pith from some or all of the spicy chilies (Thai/serranos) to reduce the heat, then finely chop them. If you're not sure how much to remove, I recommend deseeding all of them and you can always add more chilies to the curry later if it isn't spicy enough. *You may want to wear gloves when working with chilies, or wash your hands very well and be careful not to touch your eyes afterwards!
- 2
If using a mortar and pestle:
- 3
Grind the dry spices into a powder, then remove and set aside.
- 4
Add all of the chilies and salt to the mortar and pound until mostly fine; if at any point the mixture feels too wet and slippery, add the dry spices to absorb excess moisture.
- 5
Add the Thai basil leaves and pound into a fine paste.
- 6
Add the lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime zest, and cilantro roots; pound into a fine paste.
- 7
Add the shallots, garlic, and any remaining dry spices and pound into a fine paste.
- 8
Add the shrimp paste and pound to mix.
- 9
If you want to use an electric device, see blog post above.
- 10
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