Making Thai Green Curry Paste
Commercial pastes often lack the brightness of fresh ingredients. Making your own allows you to control the heat and texture, yielding a paste that carries a sharp, herbaceous bite that tinned versions simply cannot replicate.
Consistency is built in stages.
Use a heavy granite mortar and pestle. A food processor will shear the fibers and make the paste watery; the mortar bruises the cells to release the essential oils.
- Heavy granite mortar and pestle
- Chef's knife
- Small skillet
What goes in.
- 15fresh green Thai bird's eye chilies, sliced
- 1 tspsea salt
- 2 tbsplemongrass, finely minced (white stalks only)
- 1 tbspgalangal, finely minced
- 1 tbspkaffir lime zest, minced
- 2 tbspshallots, minced
- 1 tbspgarlic, minced
- 1 tspcoriander seeds, toasted and ground
- 1/2 tspcumin seeds, toasted and ground
- 1 tspshrimp paste
Bruise, don't chop
Use a firm, circular grinding motion against the sides of the bowl. You are breaking down the cell walls of the aromatics to extract the juices, which should turn the paste into a wet, cohesive mass.
The method.
Toast the spices
Dry roast coriander and cumin in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant. Grind them into a fine powder and set aside.
Pound the chilies
Add the chilies and salt to the mortar. Pound until they break down into a coarse, wet pulp.
Incorporate fibrous aromatics
Add the lemongrass, galangal, and lime zest. Grind until no large fibers remain and the mixture looks like a thick, green sludge.
Add soft aromatics
Add shallots, garlic, and the toasted spice powder. Continue grinding until the mixture is uniform.
Finish with shrimp paste
Incorporate the shrimp paste, mixing until fully emulsified into the green base.
Other turns to take.
Vegetarian
Replace the shrimp paste with fermented soybean paste or double the amount of sea salt to maintain the savory foundation.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Freeze leftover paste in ice cube trays for individual portions.
If your paste is too dry, add a teaspoon of coconut cream to help the grinding process.
Always wear gloves when handling large amounts of bird's eye chilies.
The ones that keep coming up.
Can I use a food processor?
You can, but the heat generated by the blades will cook the aromatics slightly and turn the paste into a puree rather than a textured, fragrant base.