Made from scratch and surprisingly easy. So much better than store-bought, the only challenge is finding the ingredients! A must-have to keep in the freezer when you’re craving a good green curry.
If you don’t live in a city with an accessible & complete Asian grocery store, got bad news for ya. It’s time to move.
Green curry paste is super easy to make as long as you have all the ingredients you need. If you cook a lot of Asian food, most of the spices will probably be in your pantry.
Essential ingredients:
- Thai green chilies (you can use other chilies like Serrano if you really want to)
- Lemongrass
- Garlic
- Shallot
- Coriander root
- Galangal (or sub for ginger but highly recommended you hunt it down)
If you are able to score all of these, you should be set even if you miss a few of the other ingredients. Fermented shrimp paste is also crucial, but you can with miso or doenjang to make this recipe vegan-friendly.
If you’re scared you can’t make this because you don’t have a mortar & pestle or a food processor, fear not. This blends just fine in a normal blender. You just got to scrape the sides a lot, and if it doesn’t work just stream in a little coconut milk until it gets things going.
My advice to you: Make a lot and then freeze in ice cube trays. Then you’ll have green curry paste waiting for you in the freezer at all times, and green curry comes together super fast after you make the paste. I also recommend getting a reusable freezer bag, I use Stasher bags (disclaimer: Amazon affiliate link). They’re great for freezer storage & other stuff, I use them to freeze dumplings too!
Oh one last thing, if you aren’t used to cutting peppers, might be a good idea to wear some gloves.
Anyway, let’s get this show on the road.
Green Curry Paste
Ingredients
- 5~10 green bird's eye chilies seeds & pith removed if you want it less spicy
- 2 medium shallots roughly quartered
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 cilantro roots (save leaves for curry garnish)
- 3 stalks lemongrass outer layers peeled, chopped
- 1 thumb galangal or ginger
- 4 kaffir lime leaves roughly torn
- 1 bunch Thai basil roughly torn
- 1 tbsp white pepper (ground or whole, if whole you can toast first)
- 1 tsp ground coriander (or whole, same as above)
- 2 tsp cumin (same as above)
- 1 tbsp fermented shrimp paste omit or replace with miso/doenjang for vegan version
- 1 tsp salt
- Juice of half a lime
- Coconut milk (if necessary only, add incrementally as needed)
Instructions
- If using whole spices, toast in a pan on medium low until fragrant. Shake pan frequently to prevent burning. Crush into a powder when finished (you can use the heavy bottom of a pan/jar in a bag, spice grinder, mortar & pestle etc.)
- Add everything to a blender (or food processor/pound in mortar and pestle) and blitz to combine. If it doesn't want to move, take breaks to scrape the sides frequently (while the blender is TURNED OFF). If that still doesn't work, drizzle in a bit of coconut milk until it starts to blend smoothly.
- Adjust according to your preference (more chili for spice, more salt, more lime juice, etc etc)
- Use immediately or freeze in ice cube tray until further use.
