Making Thai Green Curry Paste from Scratch
There is a sharp, herbal electricity in freshly pounded paste that you cannot replicate once it is processed or bottled. This takes patience, but the raw, stinging intensity of the result transforms a standard coconut milk curry into something entirely different.
Commit to the physical labor of the mortar and pestle.
A food processor creates a watery purée. You need a granite mortar to effectively pulverize the fibrous galangal and lemongrass into a thick, cohesive paste.
- Large granite mortar and pestle
- Chef's knife
- Microplane or fine grater
What goes in.
- 20-25fresh green bird's eye chilies, stemmed and chopped
- 1 tspsea salt
- 2 tbsplemongrass, finely sliced (white part only)
- 1 tbspgalangal, finely minced
- 1 tspkaffir lime zest, finely grated
- 2 tbspshallots, minced
- 1 tbspgarlic, minced
- 1 tspcoriander roots, cleaned and finely chopped
- 1/2 tsptoasted shrimp paste
- 1/2 tspwhite peppercorns, toasted and ground
Pounding by hardness
Always start with the driest, toughest ingredients—the chilies and salt—before moving to the fibrous roots. Only add the soft shallots and shrimp paste at the very end to bind the mixture.
The method.
Break down the chilies
Place the bird's eye chilies and salt in the mortar. Pound steadily until you have a coarse green mash; the salt acts as an abrasive to tear through the chili skins.
Incorporate the fiber
Add the lemongrass, galangal, and coriander roots. Pound with a circular, grinding motion. This requires consistent pressure until the bits are reduced to a fine, uniform consistency.
Add aromatics
Add the shallots, garlic, and lime zest. Continue pounding. The mixture will begin to look wet and fragrant as the liquids are released.
Final binding
Add the toasted shrimp paste and ground peppercorns. Pound for a final few minutes until the paste is uniform and thick enough to cling to the pestle.
Other turns to take.
Vegetarian
Replace the shrimp paste with an equal amount of fermented soybean paste or double the amount of sea salt to maintain salinity.
When it doesn't go to plan.
If the paste is too dry to move, add a teaspoon of neutral oil, but avoid adding water.
Wear gloves when handling bird's eye chilies; the oils linger on your skin long after you finish.
Store the paste in an airtight glass jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, or freeze in small portions for several months.
The ones that keep coming up.
Can I use a food processor?
You can, but the texture will suffer. If you must, pulse in very short bursts and add a tablespoon of oil to help the blades catch, though the resulting curry will lack the depth of a hand-pounded paste.
How do I know the lemongrass is done?
It is done when you no longer see distinct, stringy slivers of fiber. It should be fully integrated into the green paste.