Make your own Thai red curry paste with this authentic recipe
Making your own red curry paste
I received this recipe for homemade red curry paste from the chef at the Rayavadee hotel in Thailand. Making curry paste is not easy and does require some work. Ideal for those who like a cooking challenge!
The red curry paste is the most versatile. It is mostly used in beef and chicken curries. The name is a give- away: red curry paste is made with dried red chilis. The dried chilis give more depth of flavor to dishes, while fresh chilis make your dish rather spicy. Still, outside Thailand fresh red chili is often used in red curry paste, but that is actually not the right way to make it.
The basics of Thai curry
Your curry really stands or falls with the quality of the curry paste. Sad but unfortunate: the best curry pastes are made in Thailand itself. So they are not right at your fingertips. Of course, you can make your own curry paste, but it is a time-consuming process and the result is not always as hoped. I therefore buy my curry paste from a local Thai supermarket or online. You can store the paste in the refrigerator for at least a week or freeze it for later use.
What does a curry paste consist of?
Most curry pastes contain chilis, lemongrass, garlic, galangal, turmeric and spices such as cumin and coriander. In addition, there are varieties with kaffir lime leaf, also called combava. There are also curry pastes with fresh coriander, shallots, fennel seeds, shrimp paste, Thai basil, tamarind, star anise and other spices.
Green curry paste
The green curry paste with its unique flavors is more likely to be found in the South. It is often the base of curries with chicken and seafood. The paste there is made with fresh, green, extremely spicy bird's eye peppers, kaffir lime leaf and fresh coriander.
It is a widespread misconception that red curries are more spicy than green ones. As I told you above, red curry paste consists of dried chilis that are less spicy than the fresh red ones.
Yellow curry paste
Yellow curry paste is the softest of the three basic curry pastes. It gets its beautiful yellow color from turmeric. Other ingredients are galangal, yellow chilies, garlic, lemongrass and fish sauce. This curry paste is particularly suitable in fish curries.
Voilà, that's all you need to know to get started with curry paste yourself!
Recette de pâte de curry rouge:
Ingredients
- 3 chopped shallots
- 2 tablespoons lemongrass, just the white part chopped
- 1 tablespoon galangal, chopped
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander root
- 7 cloves garlic
- 5 dried red chilis
- 1 teaspoon shrimp paste
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped zest of a kaffir lime or combava
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
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Step 1
Add all the ingredients, except the oil, into the jar of a blender and grind to a smooth paste. Prefer the authentic way and exercise your arm muscles in the meantime? Then use a mortar and pestle.
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Step 2
A curry paste should always be fried before use and storage. So heat the oil in a pan and fry over medium heat. The paste should become aromatic.
Let the paste cool and store in a sealed jar.