As one of the most essential ingredients in Thai cuisine, different types of curry pastes play a major role in flavoring authentic Thai dishes. The Thai red curry paste recipe that we share with you in this article is driven by a traditional formula that is very easy to make! It is full of life, bursting with robustness.
Our Thai red curry paste version will come together in under 30 minutes. No hard work is required and this recipe mainly includes several Thai staples such as Thai red chiles, Lemongrass, Galangal, Coriander roots, and Kaffir lime peel.
So, without further explanations, let’s move on to our flavorful Thai red curry paste recipe!
Authentic Thai Red Curry Paste Recipe (พริกแกงเผ็ด: Prik Gaeng Ped)
Zesty, aromatic, and vibrant Thai red curry paste will instantly make your dishes have a twisted taste with an amazing Asian kick. It is way better than what you buy from the store, freshness is guaranteed and the ingredients are highly adjustable!
Thai Red Curry Paste Recipe!
3/4 – 1
Cup10
minutes10
minutes25
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
ingredients
- Spices & Herbs
1/2 oz 1/2 Dried Thai red chiles (a spicy variety)
3/4 oz 3/4 Dried Guajillo or Puya chiles (a mild variety)
1/2 tsp 1/2 White peppercorns
2 tsp 2 Coriander seeds
1 tsp 1 Cumin seeds
2 tbsp 2 Galangal (finely chopped)
6 cloves 6 Garlic (chopped)
1 stalk 1 Lemongrass (outer peel removed, innermost part finely sliced)
4 4 Cilantro roots
- Other Ingredients
1/2 cup 1/2 Shallots (finely chopped)
2 tsp 2 Kaffir lime zest
2 tsp 2 Fermented Shrimp paste
1 tsp 1 Coarse salt
2 cups 2 Freshly Boiled water
Equipment
1 Coffee GrinderShop This!
1 Blender/ Food ProcessorShop This!
BowlsShop This!
Directions
- Preparation
- Start by preparing the chiles to make the red curry paste.
- You must cut the chiles into pieces and remove the seeds as much as possible to prevent your curry paste from becoming excessively hot.
- Put the cut chile pieces into a bowl and pour 2 cups of freshly boiled water.
- Let the chiles soak for about 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, put the dry spices (white peppercorns, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds) in the spice grinder and grind until you get a fine powder. Set it aside until you need it back.
- Making The Thai Red Curry Paste
- Drain the chiles from water and put them in the blender/ food processor jar. Reserve about ½ cup of chile-soaking water.
- Follow up with chopped garlic, lemongrass, galangal, cilantro roots, shallots, kaffir lime zest, fermented shrimp paste, salt and the ground spice mixture.
- Add the reserved chile-soaking water and blitz until you get a smooth paste. Add a splash of neutral oil like avocado or canola oil to facilitate blending if you think the paste is too dry.
- Scrape the edges of the blending jar and make sure everything has come together to a fine paste.
- Transfer your prepared red curry paste into an air-tight glass jar and keep it in the refrigerator or use it immediately with your dishes.
- You may use a mortar and pestle for the whole process according to the traditional way. See the notes for instructions.
Tasty Notes and Suggestions by SpiceRally
- You can use mortar and pestle to make the red curry paste too. For this, you must soak the chiles for at least 30 minutes and start by grinding the white peppercorns with cumin seeds and coriander seeds. Then set them aside and pound the soaked chilies with the salt into a fine paste. When it starts to look pulpy, add the ground dry spices. Pound until you get a smooth paste. Add the galangal, lemongrass, cilantro roots, and kaffir lime zest and pound again until well combined. Add the shallots and garlic and continue pounding into a fine paste. Mix in the shrimp paste and pound until you get the desired consistency.
- You can customize the usage of red chiles according to your personal preference for the heat level.
- Vegans can use miso paste instead of shrimp paste.
- Skip the coriander and cumin seeds if needed since those spices are optional.
- You may also use 10-12 cilantro stems if you can’t find the cilantro roots.
- You can store this in the refrigerator in a glass air-tight container for up to three days and in the freezer for several months.
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The most basic way of using the Thai red curry paste is with the traditional Thai red curries, but you can also do wonders with this flavorful ingredient! You can incorporate the red curry paste with fried rice, burgers, dips, sauces, salads, and many more dishes you make.
To improve the flavor, quality, and shelf life of your red curry paste, you can toast your dry spices (white peppercorns, cumin seeds, and coriander seeds) in a pan until toasty and aromatic. Then grind them the usual way and incorporate them with the curry paste.
No, our recipe is not vegan-friendly since we have used shrimp paste. But you can substitute shrimp paste with miso paste for a vegan-friendly version.
We have not included any gluten-related ingredients in our red curry paste. Therefore, this is safe to consume by anyone sensitive to gluten or prefers a gluten-free diet.
Of course! Thai red curry paste has no excessive carbs, making it undoubtedly favorable for someone who follows a ketogenic diet. This can be a flavorful addition to seafood, meat, and even in salads!
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- Authentic Homemade Thai Massaman Curry Paste Recipe Made From Scratch!
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