Thai food is known for its spicy curries and soups, and that’s what most Westerners are familiar with. There are many different types of curry pastes from around the country, and they are all equally delicious.
This curry paste is a red variety, and is perfect for curries, soups, marinades, and more. Although you can buy curry paste in the store, making your own at home provides a whole new level of freshness and flavor that is really worth the trouble.
Recipe
- Begin by soaking 10 large red chilis in hot water for 25 minutes.
- Once they’ve been soaked, finely chop them.
- In a dry pan, start toasting 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds, 2 teaspoons of coriander seeds and 1/2 teaspoon of peppercorns, whatever variety you can find.
- Once they’ve toasted for a few minutes, put them in a mortar and pestle and start crushing them into a powder.
- Add in the chili into the mortar, along with a 1/4 inch piece of galangal — or ginger if you can’t find it — 1 stalk of lemongrass roughly chopped, 1/4 the rind of a kefir lime or 1-2 kefir lime leaves, 6 stems of cilantro, 2 shallots roughly chopped, 4 cloves of garlic, and a pinch of salt.
- Mix and crush the ingredients together until it turns into a paste, and enjoy!
