Thai Green Curry Paste Recipe | Homemade Green Curry Paste Recipe
Thai curries are aromatic and fragrant. They should feel and taste fresh. Their aroma is rendered by a unique blend of ingredients ground into a curry paste. Thai green curry paste is so called because of the green colour it’s ingredients contribute to it.
The Thai Green Curry Paste gets its green color from cilantro stems and roots as well as green chillies, but it’s also made up of other ingredients such as kaffir lime peel, lemongrass, galangal, coriander seeds, garlic, black peppercorns, and shrimp paste.
These ingredients are all smashed together in a mortar with a pestle to form a green curry paste. This process brings out the flavours of the ingredients even more than it happens in a blender.
Having said that, most restaurants in Thailand have their own versions. I had a green curry at the Doi Chang in Chiang Mai, Thailand for lunch. The curry was redder than greener. But the taste was definitely sublime and the curry definitely fresh. See the pic below.
Thai chicken in green curry
Green curry paste made from scratch always tastes fresher and is more flavorful. But today, packaged Thai curry pastes are fast replacing the same given the convenience.
These pastes are very similar to Indian coconut-based curries with the emphasis being on fresh leaves and herbs. Do check out this recipe of Thai Chicken in Green Curry using this Thai green curry paste.
An authentic Thai green curry paste is never too mild. The chillies deliver much of the flavour as well as the level of spiciness.
However, this is still the mildest of the Thai green curry pastes and the spice levels are about what you would expect to find in a Thai green curry in Bangkok or central Thailand. That means “moderately” spicy, though as always, spice levels are subjective!
For a more spicy one, you should look at the Southern Thai Green Curry paste. However, for most palates the heat from this green curry paste recipe will be hot enough!
MOST THAI CURRY PASTES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING
- Dry Spices
- Chillies
- Aromatic Roots
- Fresh Herbs
- Shrimp Paste
Now you have to decide how best to combine all of those ingredients together. The Thai traditionally use a mortar and pestle. They are made from heavy granite and when you give them plenty of elbows, they’re great at churning these varied types of ingredients into a paste.
In a modern kitchen, you may not have this as an option. So you need to find whatever you can to crush the dry spices and others you can put in a food processor or blender.
Let’s look at the recipe for making Thai green curry paste at home.
What is Thai Green Curry Paste made of?
Traditional ingredients in Thai green curry paste include fresh green chilies, coriander, shallots, galangal, garlic, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, shrimp paste and Thai sweet basil. The green hue of the paste comes from the chillies, coriander and Thai sweet basil.
RECIPE RECOMMENDATIONS
| Cooking Tools Recommended | Recommended Ingredients |
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Thai Green Curry Paste Recipe | Green Curry Paste Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Teaspoon White Peppercorns
- 1 Tablespoon Coriander Seeds
- 1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 1 Inch Ginger
- 10 piece Garlic Cloves
- 6 piece Thai Green Chillies Small & Spicy
- 8 piece Green Chilli Medium to Large
- 2 Inch Galangal Thai Root Ginger
- 5 piece Kaffir Lime Leaves
- 10 piece Thai Basil Leaves
- 4 piece Coriander Roots & Stems
- 1/2 Cup Coriander Leaves
- 2 Teaspoons Shrimp Paste
- 1 Teaspoons Fish Sauce
- 2 Teaspoons Lime Juice
- 2 piece Shallots
- 2 piece Lemongrass Stems Finely chopped
- 2 Teaspoons Lemon Zest
- 1 Inch Turmeric I knob about 1 inch
Instructions
- Get your ingredients ready.
- Toast all dry spices on a pan.
- Add everything together in a mortar and pound it using a pestle.
- Make it into a smooth paste.
- If you are using a food processor add some coconut water to blend everything into a paste.
- Use if for your Thai curries.
Notes
- If you don’t want your curry to be too spicy, use large green chillies and take out the seeds. If you want it a little hotter, use a mix of birds-eye and long chillies. And if you want your curry Thai-style spicy, use as many Thai birds-eye chillies as you can handle.
WHAT CAN I USE THIS RECIPE FOR?
This paste goes very well with white meats. You can use it instantly for chicken and fish. However, if you’re cooking fish, beef, or game meat, you may want to increase the dried spices and also add more of root aromatics.
The best part of making your homemade green curry paste is the ability to customise it as needed to your taste.
This paste goes well with vegetables and tofu as well. Use all the veggies that you love. You can also use it as a marinade. And, you can use it to make a spicy sauce to cover a steak or a pan fried fish too.
Thai green curry with vegetables
OPTIONS FOR SHRIMP PASTE & FISH SAUCE
You can easily make this paste vegetarian and vegan by replacing the shrimp paste and fish sauce wit nori seaweed. Nori seaweed imparts a ‘fishy’ taste without harming a thing in the green paste. It also adds to the deepening of colour.
Also, if you can’t get hold of shrimp paste, don’t despair. Simply use some canned anchovies and grind them with the rest of the ingredients. All done :)
TO SUM IT UP
Thai green curry paste
The main reason to make a homemade Thai green curry paste is that you just can’t get the same intense, fresh flavour from a packaged one.
And while that holds true for green curry paste, the other very big advantage is that you can control the spiciness without compromising flavour or the signature green colour. So go for it and enjoy. :)
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